Dans son laboratoire à l'université de Penn, Vijay Kumar et son équipe construisent des quadrirotors : de petits robots agiles qui volent en essaim, se repèrent, et forment des équipes ad hoc -- à des fins de construction, de repérage lors de catastrophes et bien plus.

Vijay Kumar : des robots qui volent .. et travaillent ensemble

Small, agile quadrotor robots can fly, sense their environment, and coordinate in swarms without GPS or central control. In one demonstration, a robot performed a 360-degree flip in less than half a second and could recover instantly after being thrown through the air. These robots can enter disaster sites, build structures autonomously, and adapt to new environments by mapping spaces on the fly. Inspired by swarms of ants, their decentralized cooperation unlocks new possibilities for construction, search-and-rescue, and even musical performances.

Tiny Flying Robots Team Up To Solve Big Problems

15 years of drones at TED, in five GIFs