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Autonomous Drone Avoids Obstacles Flying At 30mph

Alert, intelligent, autonomous.

Three words to describe the quick-thinking, lightweight drone that has been unveiled by MIT PhD student Andrew Barry.

He demonstrates the drone can "dodge and dive" its way around obstacles, while flying at 30mph.

Andrew studies at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (CSAIL) lab and made the drone detect obstacles up to 10 metres (32 feet) away at a rate about 20 times faster than current software allows, according to an MIT press release.

Computer algorithms capture images at multiple distances in the vehicle's flight path up to 10 metres away to watch for obstacles, so the drone can make evasive manoeuvres. Andrew said:

“As you fly, you push that 10-metre horizon forward, and, as long as your first 10 metres are clear, you can build a full map of the world around you.”

Andrew believes the product could be publically available within two years.

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