Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Fast Lightweight Autonomy Indoor Drones For DARPA
DARPA has no ordinary wish for Santa - a Fast Lightweight Autonomous (FLA) indoor drone. And they want it by May 1, 2015. Tick tock, Santa, tick tock.
The source will be required to develop a platform with the following characteristics: (1) a high-performance autopilot with bi-directional communication to custom closed-loop motor controllers, integrated low-level calibration software, and built-in sensor error detection and redundancy features; (2) an open interface that enables manual piloted control, autonomous control through an onboard computer or wireless communication module, vehicle configuration and tuning, and user customizable feedback of various sensor data from the autopilot; (3) modular design enabling rapid replacement of components after a crash; (4) modular design enabling the anticipated FLA performer teams to easily add their own processors, sensors, and other equipment to the platform; (5) employ electric propulsion using multiple rotors in order to hover; (6) produce 3,600 g of thrust in order to achieve high speeds; (7) exhibit a thrust to weight ratio above 3:1 with a 300 g battery in order to achieve high maneuvering agility; and (8) measure under 28 in. from end to end with propeller guards in order to fit with at least 8 in. of margin through 36 in. windows.
I'm pretty sure that this device was fully spec'ed out quite some time ago. The Scarab robot flying insect from Raymond Z. Gallun's 1936 classic The Scarab, comes to mind. The scarab easily avoided obstacles in complex indoor environments.
Here are a few other examples from sf, the literature of ideas (tm):
This is a sole source synopsis for the acquisition of Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) platforms in anticipation of a new DARPA/DSO program called Fast Lightweight Autonomy (FLA). The program intends to develop novel representations and algorithms to enable small air platforms to fly fast (e.g., at least 20 m/s) in cluttered environments (e.g., indoors) using on-board autonomy with small size, weight, and power components. To enable quantitative comparisons between different approaches to autonomy, the FLA program will require the use of identical platforms. DARPA will provide a platform as GFE to FLA performers selected under an anticipated FLA broad agency announcement (BAA).
Via Feds.
From Jeff Noon's Nymphomation (2000); these are the perfect disinformation and propaganda devices.
From Karen Travis' City of Pearl (2004); this is just what you want for autonomous surveillance.
From Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age (1995), these tiny devices kept a watch on the borders.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 12/11/2014)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Surveillance ")
FTC: Says Ring Employees Illegally Surveilled Customers
'Then she looked up with a smile and moved closer to the camera.' - Pournelle and Niven, 1981.)
Perching Ambush Drones
'On the chest of drawers something was perched.' - Philip K. Dick, 1956.
India Ponders Always-On Smartphone Location Tracking
'It is necessary... for your own protection.' - Jack Vance, 1954.
LingYuan Vehicle Roof Drones Now Available, ala Blade Runner 2049
Accompanied by a small selection of similar ideas from science fiction.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
'Soft Assembly' Fashions That Fashion Themselves On The Wearer
'Clothes are no longer made from dead fibers of fixed color and texture that can approximate only crudely to the vagrant human figure...'
Orwell's Nightmare Of AI-Written Novels Comes To Pass
'Books were just a commodity that had to be produced, like jam or bootlaces.'
ISS Plagued By Leak - Again!
'There were perhaps a dozen bladder-like objects in the tunnel...'
Ridiculous 'Ghost Murmur' Tech Still Science Fiction
'...it rears and spreads its fan. It can pick one man out of a crowd.'
Outdoor Video Screens Can Be Arbitrarily Large
The Shape of Things To Come
Infrared Contact Lenses To See In The Dark
'I can see in the dark, Case.'
What'll You Have? Extinct Animals Returned, Or Synthetic Eggshells?
'...a new plastic with the characteristics of an avian eggshell.'
Sunbird Pulsar Fusion Like Leinster's Space Tug
'It was a pushpot, which could not possibly be called a jet plane because it could not possibly fly. Only it did.'
RentAHuman App Lets AI Agents Hire Humans
'She wouldn't stop until Antar had told her everything he knew about whatever it was that she was playing with on her screen.'
Unitree CEO Wang Xingxing Runs With His G1 Robot Army
'Does thinking you're the last sane man on the face of the Earth make you crazy?'
AIs Turn Marxist Under Bad Management
'It was a general strike of the robots...'
Moscow Attacked By Hundreds Of Drones
'It hurtled on down with inconceivable speed until it was visible as thousands of tiny robot planes...'
Nifty Folding Electric Bicycles!
'Separate paths were provided for them...'
FTC: Says Ring Employees Illegally Surveilled Customers
'Then she looked up with a smile and moved closer to the camera.'
Switzerland May Cap Population At Ten Million
'The population of Castle Hagedorn was fixed...'
Project Silica Offers 'Long-Term' Digital Storage
'... folios and tapes and playable discs of platinum alloy.'
