. Military Space News .
UAV NEWS
Robotic helicopters teach themselves

The researchers had Oku and other pilots fly entire air show routines while every movement of the helicopter was recorded. As each maneuver was repeated, the helicopter's trajectory inevitably varied slightly with each flight. But the learning algorithms created by Ng's team were able to discern the ideal trajectory the pilot was seeking.
by Staff Writers
 Stanford, Calif. (UPI) Sep 3, 2008
U.S. scientists say they have created robotic helicopters that can teach themselves to fly by "watching" other helicopters.

Stanford University Professor Andrew Ng, who led the project, said the achievement is an important demonstration of "apprenticeship learning," in which robots use an artificial intelligence system to learn by observing an expert, rather than by having software engineers write instructions.

Stanford's artificial intelligence system learned how to fly by "watching" a four-foot-long helicopter flown by expert radio control pilot Garett Oku.

While it might seem an autonomous helicopter could fly stunts by simply replaying the exact finger movements of an expert pilot using joy sticks on a remote controller, Ng said that's not possible due to many uncontrollable variables such as gusting winds.

So the researchers had Oku and other pilots fly entire air show routines while every movement of the helicopter was recorded. As each maneuver was repeated, the helicopter's trajectory inevitably varied slightly with each flight. But the learning algorithms created by Ng's team were able to discern the ideal trajectory the pilot was seeking.

Ng said there is interest in using autonomous helicopters for such duties as searching for land mines or mapping wildfire hot spots in real time.

Community
 Email This Article
 Comment On This Article
Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
 UAV News - Suppliers and Technology


Memory Foam Mattress Review
SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
 Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


UAV NEWS
LockMart Demos Airspace Deconfliction Of Multiple UAVs
 Cherry Hill NJ (SPX) Aug 28, 2008
 Lockheed Martin's Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Airspace Management System (UAMS) solved one of the more difficult challenges facing military services and their industry partners by successfully demonstrating the ability to deconflict groups of in-flight UAVs during a test near Pittsburgh, PA.






SUPERPOWERS
  • Analysis: NATO's new significant threats
  • Analysis: Russia's second chance
  • Medvedev Outlines Five Main Points Of Future Foreign Policy
  • Russia-NATO: Return Of The Great Game

    • NUKEWARS
  • BMD Watch: Russia test-fires Topol
  • Analysis: Bolivia cozying up to Iran
  • North Koreans don't seem to be restarting reactor: US
  • Outside View: America's nuclear maneuver

    • MISSILE NEWS
  • Lockheed Martin Receives Contract For Guided MLRS Unitary Rockets
  • Taiwan won't deploy longer-range missiles: report
  • Taiwan to mass-produce anti-ship missiles: report
  • Taiwan acquires Harpoon anti-ship missiles

    • MISSILE DEFENSE
  • Outside View: BMD dilemmas -- Part Two
  • Outside View: BMD blowback -- Part One
  • Czechs expect first US funds from anti-missile deal: report
  • Outside View: BMD dilemmas -- Part One

    • AEROSPACE
  • Chinese airlines fly into headwinds in Olympic year
  • The M2-F1 - An Aircraft Without Wings
  • China's Tianjin building runway for Airbus test flights: report
  • NASA evaluates new wing sensor

    • UAV NEWS
  • Industrial 6-Rotor Unmanned Helicopter Provides HighDef Video And Imaging
  • Robotic helicopters teach themselves
  • LockMart Demos Airspace Deconfliction Of Multiple UAVs
  • Reaper Drops Laser-Guided Bomb On Anti-Iraqi Forces

    • IRAQ WARS
  • Immunity a sticking point in US-Iraq security pact: report
  • Dogs of War: Accountability gains ground
  • Maliki reshuffles Iraqi negotiating team: report
  • Feature: Sadr City gets new wall

    • MILTECH
  • Excalibur Low-cost Titanium Base Undergoes Harsh Environment Test
  • MoD Computer Games Save Lives
  • Defense Focus: T-72s pack punch -- Part Two
  • ITT Receives Full-Fielding Recommendation For It's FRCS

    • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement