Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has received a $1 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, an arm of the Department of Defense, to develop a flight control system that will allow drones to pilot themselves.
“Potential uses for this technology include search and rescue missions or remote surveillance and assessment of conditions too hazardous for humans,” said Richard Prazenica, assistant professor of Aerospace Engineering at ERAU in a press release. “This intelligent, autonomous UAV could explore unmapped or unsafe environments to locate someone injured in an earthquake, or assist and communicate with firefighters while gathering information as it moves through a smoke-filled building.”
The grant will be split with Creare LLC, a New Hampshire based engineering research and development firm. ERAU received $45,000 previously for the first phase of the project.
“The UAV would be able to autonomously plan and execute a path by creating a three-dimensional map of any given environment to enable obstacle avoidance,” Prazenica said. “This intelligent flying platform should, without a human operator, be able to simultaneously map and fly a mission to a specific location within a changing environment, regardless of visibility, to gather data and images or perhaps to deliver life-saving medical supplies.”
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