Researchers Aim To Create Robot That Can Fly Any Kind of Aircraft

 Robotics  

With the intention of creating a robotic system that can fly any aircraft, a team of researchers has successfully tested the PIBOT pilot robot in a model airplane. More than a drone, PIBOT uses an aircraft's existing controls to pilot the plane.

Researchers at South Korea’s Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have built a humanoid robot pilot called PIBOT to fly planes and helicopters on dangerous missions.

According to lead researcher Shim Hyung-Chul, what sets PIBOT apart from autonomous drones and autopilot programs is the robot's ability to adapt to any type of aircraft: “Many existing drones have been developed, however, PIBOT is the world first robot which can immediately automate any kind of aircraft.”

The project was was presented at the IROS 2014 in the paper, "A Robot-Machine Interface for Full-Automation using functions on a Humanoid".

Related articles NOVA's 'Rise Of The Drones' Opens The Shutters On Lethal Airborne Robotics Technology  Insect Sized Robot Drones Soon To Be Reality   Teaching Flying Robots Their Environment

Shim says the one thing that all aircraft have in common is that they were designed to be flown by humans, so he and his team designed a robot that can control a plane the same way a human would.

The team has now created a smaller version of PIBOT, that has flown a model airplane, as shown in the video above.

The robot used by the team is actually an off-the-shelf humanoid BIOLOID Premium from Robotis, modified to be able to work the controls of a cockpit simulation, scaled down to mini-robot size.

PiBot in a simulator environment

"Many existing drones have been developed, however, PIBOT is the world first robot which can immediately automate any kind of aircraft."

The robot interfaces with a plane’s sensors and instrumentation to automate their functionality. PIBOT uses real-time computer vision to navigate during take-off and landing.

So far PIBOT has successfully completed a rigorous flight simulation programme as well as field tests with the model airplane. The researchers have plans to test PIBOT’s flying skills in a full scale plane in the near future.

“When Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant got damaged by an earthquake in 2011, there was a helicopter which was trying to spray extinguishing agents, but it couldn’t get close to the site because of the radiation hazard,” explained Shim.

He believes if PIBOT was at the controls, radiation would not have been an issue.


SOURCE  Euronews

By 33rd Square

Embed