Huge swarms of AI drones are coming: Team sets world record by launching 50 UAVs controlled by just ONE person

The drones 'talked' to each other using Wi-Fi to fly in formation
Eventually, engineers want to create swarms that act on their own
They say they can one day be used in military combat situations

By Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail.com

Published: 16:44 EST, 16 September 2015 | Updated: 19:25 EST, 16 September 2015

View
comments

A US team has set a world record after successfully launching 50 drones controlled by a single person.

The drones were able to fly in formation by 'talking' to each using high-powered Wi-Fi.

Eventually, researchers want to create swarms that act on their own, helping free up resources on the battlefield.

Scroll down for video

A US team has set a world record after successfully launching 50 drones controlled by a single person. Once in the air, the drones talked to each using high-powered Wi-Fi, helping them fly together as a large swarm

The Zephyr drones each cost about $2000 each and were launched using chain-driven catapult, according to a report in the New Scientist.

The system allowed one drone to be launched every 30 seconds, but researchers believe they can soon cut this down to 10 seconds or less.

The team at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, broke their previous record of 30 set just five weeks ago.

'I'm very proud of reaching our goal of successfully flying 50 autonomous UAVs simultaneously,' said NPS Assistant Professor Timothy Chung,

'Twenty years from now when aerial swarms are routinely helping farmers improve their crops, helping rescuers locate lost children, and helping warfighters to win our nation's wars,' according to NPS Consortium for Robotics director, Professor Ray Buettner

The 50 UAVs were launched and flown autonomously in two 'sub-swarms' of 25 UAVs each.

The UAVs performed basic leader-follower routines and exchanged information among themselves via wireless links.

'This project came from the notion that quantity is a quality,' said NPS Assistant Professor Timothy Chung.

'It's like trying to play a game of tennis against an entire 5th grade class. If they were are all lobbing tennis balls across the court, it would be very hard to defend against them.'

'In the past, each aircraft would be operated by a single person, which makes for a very large footprint with many moving parts.

54-PROPELLER SWARM FLYING MACHINE LAUNCHES MAN INTO THE SKIES

A British inventor has created a ‘super drone’ with 54 propellers, which is enough to keep a human airborne.

The machine, dubbed ‘The Swarm’, can only remain in the air for 10 minutes on a single battery charge and seems to climb to a height of around 15 feet (seven metres) but it is impressive nonetheless.

The Swarm comprises a metal frame and polycarbonate drone to keep the seated passenger safe.

'A total of 54 counter-rotation propellers and six grouped control channels with Hobbyking stabilisation,’ are attached to provide lift, according to the inventor, gasturbine101’s YouTube page.

The Swarm, named because its propellers make a noise resembling a swarm of bees, is described as a ‘super drone’ and also a ‘manned aerial vehicle,’ in contrast to may drones which are known as UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles.

It can carry a weight of up to 326lbs (148kg) and can remain airborne for 10 minutes.

'One of the ways we can mitigate that is transferring autonomy,' added Chung.

'These robots can make limited decisions … that will alleviate some of the pressure on our human operators.

'Today, we were able to successfully control 50 UAVs with two operators that managed the aircrafts behaviors and health.'

NPS Consortium for Robotics director, Professor Ray Buettner, is hopeful about this technology's future applications.

'Twenty years from now when aerial swarms are routinely helping farmers improve their crops, helping rescuers locate lost children, and helping warfighters to win our nation's wars, people will be able to look back at the efforts of NPS faculty and students in the skies over Camp Roberts as one of the seminal events that made such things possible,' he said.

Eventually, researchers want to create swarms that act on their own, and the team says it will test this in the future by having a 50 vs 50 drone swarm dogfight

The Zephyr drones each cost about $2000 each and were launched using chain-driven catapult. The system allowed one drone to be launched every 30 seconds, but researchers hope to cut this down to 10 seconds