Flying Drones in the Dark

Flying often requires being able to see where you are going. A pilot may rely on the instruments on board when the weather is really bad and disables his ability to see out of the cockpit, but most air crafts will prefer not to fly in low visibility conditions. The same would be considered true of unmanned aircrafts flown by remote pilots. More specifically, since the pilot is so far away, especially when flying a drone, he prefers only to fly in areas that are well lit.

Researchers at the University of Zurich have taught drones how to fly using an eye-inspired camera. This allows the drones to fly faster and be more agile than before. The science project allows the drones to know their precise location in space as well as orientation, at all times. This will help the drones perform even better when aiding  rescue teams with search missions at dusk or dawn.

Prof. Davide Scaramuzza, Director of the Robotics and Perception Group was part of the team that developed the new camera which can easily cope with high-speed motion and can see much better in the dark than current versions currently on the market. The applications of this science project are unlikely to be restricted to mere drones in the future.