Unmanned Aircraft Clustered via Bluetooth 189
An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at the University of Essex are using Linux and tiny embedded computer modules to build fleets of unmanned aircraft that fly in flocking formations like birds, while performing parallel, distributed computing tasks using Bluetooth-connected Linux clustering software. The Gridswarm project includes model trainers that can fly 120mph, while a parallel Ultraswarm project uses co-axial helicopters. A prototype of the later is believed to the world's smallest flying web server. The aircraft will run Linux on embedded computing modules from Gumstix."
Flcoking Behavior (Score:5, Interesting)
1) Follow the plane/bird in front of you
2) Go about as fast as the plane/birds around you
3) Don't hit other birds/planes, keep a reasonable distance.
Emergent behavior is really amazing if you are interested in it some more check out alife9.org Its the website of the last alife conference in boston that took place over the summer, really neat stuff in there.
familiar (Score:1, Interesting)
Want funding? (Score:5, Interesting)
Where there's money, though...
Can we say Michael Crichton??? (Score:5, Interesting)
My Treo/PDA/Smartphone Optimized Site [nccomp.com]
why? how? perhaps this will shed the light (Score:3, Interesting)
Yet I disagree with the blimp. You have to be able to upload your requests, meaning you will need an amplified radio to communicate to the blimp, leading to alot of crosstalk. Same problem with the orbital idea. If you want to solve this problem with uber-transmitters like satellite dishes, you are looking at (i dont remember exactly from cs 428, but somewhere in the range of) 128kbps u/l and 64-48kbps d/l.
Re:Want funding? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:why? how? perhaps this will shed the light (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Flcoking Behavior (Score:5, Interesting)
Hmm, I could be wrong about this, but flocking behavior is *vastly* more complex than the three points that listed in the parent's post.
From what I understand, flocking doesn't result from just 'following the birds adjacent to you', but instead a result of optimizing a complex multiplanar lifting system [aerodyn.org] in order to reduce total flight power demand.
Honestly, I'd be suprised if the researchers were able to emulate the real purpose of a flock, instead of just emulating superficial swarming behavior -- there was a very readable article in Science written by two guys at Caltech on flight efficiency & flocking [davidslife.com], and they conclude with the premise that: "theoretically 25 birds could have a range increase of about 70 percent as compared with a lone bird"
IMO, programmed swarming behavior is nothing new, but if these researchers run with the ball and generate *real* efficiency-optimizing flocking behavior with man-made aircraft, the ramifactions could be huge.
This could work with driverless cars (Score:2, Interesting)
* A queue of cars is also like a flock
* Onboard computers can co-operate in helping drive the cars, or entirely drive the cars
* The cars can use a suitable operating system, such as Linux.
* The cars can communicate through radio, light, sound etc., using any protocol, for example blue-tooth.
* At a junction, any car can choose to leave its current flock and join one heading more towards the car's destination.
* Each flock of cars uses external navigation information from satellites, broadcast radio, networks such as the Internet, contactless chips in the road surface, etc.
* The flock co-operates to receive navigation information, giving greater total bandwidth and better positional accuracy.
* Flocks share information with other flocks, reducing the effect of traffic jams.
* A car can reserve a parking place or other service, to be ready as (or just before) it arrives.
* A driver can pay money to adjust the priority of his or her car, giving it priority when cars decide who should overtake, or who should go in the "fast lane", or park closest to their exact destination.
Military uses? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Bullet with Beowulf Wings (Score:3, Interesting)
Clusters such as you describe might be the killer defense that could render the strategic bomber vulnerable and obsolete.
Re:There's competition? (Score:3, Interesting)
And as you say, there's builtin redundancy, so that maybe the cluster could decide to risk a member by letting it peek around or over an object while the main group stays safe. Also, members could be "dropped off" to act as communication relays if necessary. And then there's the attraction of having multiple eyes viewing the target from different directions...
HIgh Altitiude? (Score:3, Interesting)