Related papers: Enabling Relative Localization for Nanodrone Swarm…
Precise relative localization is a crucial functional block for swarm robotics. This work presents a novel autonomous end-to-end system that addresses the monocular relative localization, through deep neural networks (DNNs), of two peer…
Lightweight aerial swarms have potential applications in scenarios where larger drones fail to operate efficiently. The primary foundation for lightweight aerial swarms is efficient relative localization, which enables cooperation and…
Relative drone-to-drone localization is a fundamental building block for any swarm operations. We address this task in the context of miniaturized nano-drones, i.e., 10cm in diameter, which show an ever-growing interest due to novel use…
Relative localization is a crucial functional block of any robotic swarm. We address it in a fleet of nano-drones characterized by a 10 cm-scale form factor, which makes them highly versatile but also strictly limited in their onboard power…
Swarms of drones offer an increased sensing aperture, and having them mimic behaviors of natural swarms enhances sampling by adapting the aperture to local conditions. We demonstrate that such an approach makes detecting and tracking…
Swarm robots have sparked remarkable developments across a range of fields. While it is necessary for various applications in swarm robots, a fast and robust coordinate initialization in vision-based drone swarms remains elusive. To this…
The safe operation of drone swarms beyond visual line of sight requires multiple safeguards to mitigate the risk of collision between drones flying in close-proximity scenarios. Cooperative navigation and flight coordination strategies that…
Drones in many applications need the ability to fly fully or partially autonomously to accomplish their mission. To allow these fully/partially autonomous flights, first, the drone needs to be able to locate itself constantly. Then the…
Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) will unlock their true potential once they can operate in groups. To this end, it is essential for them to estimate on-board the relative location of their neighbors. The challenge lies in limiting the mass and…
The continuous monitoring by drone swarms remains a challenging problem due to the lack of power supply and the inability of drones to land on uneven surfaces. Heterogeneous swarms, including ground and aerial vehicles, can support longer…
Perceiving and mapping the surroundings are essential for enabling autonomous navigation in any robotic platform. The algorithm class that enables accurate mapping while correcting the odometry errors present in most robotics systems is…
The paper focuses on a heterogeneous swarm of drones to achieve a dynamic landing of formation on a moving robot. This challenging task was not yet achieved by scientists. The key technology is that instead of facilitating each agent of the…
We propose a new approach to visual perception for relative localization of agents within large-scale swarms of UAVs. Inspired by biological perception utilized by schools of sardines, swarms of bees, and other large groups of animals…
The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is rapidly increasing in applications ranging from surveillance and first-aid missions to industrial automation involving cooperation with other machines or humans. To maximize area coverage and…
Achieving safe and precise landings for a swarm of drones poses a significant challenge, primarily attributed to conventional control and planning methods. This paper presents the implementation of multi-agent deep reinforcement learning…
This paper introduces a safe swarm of drones capable of performing landings in crowded environments robustly by relying on Reinforcement Learning techniques combined with Safe Learning. The developed system allows us to teach the swarm of…
Small drones are an increasing threat to both military personnel and civilian infrastructure, making early and automated detection crucial. In this work we develop a system that uses spiking neural networks and neuromorphic cameras (event…
Estimating the pose of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone is a challenging task. It is useful for many applications such as navigation, surveillance, tracking objects on the ground, and 3D reconstruction. In this work, we present a…
Navigating unmanned aerial vehicles in environments where GPS signals are unavailable poses a compelling and intricate challenge. This challenge is further heightened when dealing with Nano Aerial Vehicles (NAVs) due to their compact size,…
Relative state estimation is crucial for vision-based swarms to estimate and compensate for the unavoidable drift of visual odometry. For autonomous drones equipped with the most compact sensor setting -- a stereo camera that provides a…