Team of Czech scientists win bronze at world autonomous drone race in Abu Dhabi
In Abu Dhabi, a team of Czech scientists came third at the world’s first racing competition for autonomous drones – drones that fly without direct human control, but rather through on-board programming and AI.
Drones are a common sight these days, usually accompanied by a pilot controlling them from a location on the ground. What is a rarer sight are drones that have no pilot at all, flying instead according to pre-programmed patterns and artificial intelligence. A ground-breaking competition for such ‘autonomous drones’ was held in Abu Dhabi on April 11th and 12th, and a team of Czech scientists made it onto the podium.
Teams from around the world entered the A2RL x DCL Autonomous Drone Championship, which was hosted by the United Arab Emirates. The drones in the new competition fly without human intervention, using on-board AI and machine learning. They can reach speeds of up to 150 kilometres per hour, and must manoeuvre independently in close proximity to heavy and potentially harmful obstacles.
The teams had to put their drones through a series of challenges, including a straightforward race against the clock, and the four best teams in each discipline advanced to the finals. Another round involved a timed slalom between distant gates. Here the Czech team’s drone ran into difficulty; it had problems with orientation, as its sensors could not recognise obstacles at greater distances.
The results of the competition were reported on Sunday by Radovan Suk from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Czech Technical University, whose scientists made up the Czech contingent, in collaboration with the company Fly4Future. "In the competition between robotic teams and human pilots, artificial intelligence was able to win, which no one expected. This also shows the very high level of competition in Abu Dhabi," Mr. Suk noted.
The gold medal in the main event was won by a Dutch team from the Delft University of Technology. The victors shared one million dollars (approximately 22.1 million crowns). The Czech team meanwhile took home the bronze medal and a prize of more than fifty thousand dollars.
The research of the Multi-Robot Systems Group at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering is now focused on increasing the speed and reliability of drones when flying in swarms, the ability to move autonomously over long distances, and the miniaturisation of sensors. The scientists will use the new RoboFly robotic system, which consists of a small flying robot that carries cameras and does not reply on GPS to navigate.
After returning from the UAE, the Czech group will continue testing the new technology at the faculty’s training centre in Timișoara, Romania. Their goal is to develop the technology and make it even more commercially viable and attractive to potential buyers.
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