If you’ve ever marveled at a flock
of birds moving in complex patterns as if it were one single large organism,
you’re not alone. Researchers at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
are working to infuse similar cooperative behavior on a collection of flying
robots. This is not an easy task, birds have millions of years of evolution
that allow them to flock, researchers developing swarm robotics are writing mathematical
models to mimic some of this behavior. Developing the ability for drones to
work together in swarms could have wide-ranging applications—from agriculture
to military use. But many scientific hurdles remain.
“These decision-making problems are
very challenging because each independent robot in the swarm has to predict how
others will behave in the future and then make its own decisions accordingly,” says
Shankarachary Ragi, Ph.D., an assistant professor in
the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at SD Mines who is leading the
research. Ragi and his team are helping to develop mathematical models, or
algorithms, that enable these kinds of cooperative behaviors in drones.
Decades ago, computer scientists
realized they could build a virtual supercomputer by making several normal-
sized computers work together in a network. Today relatively powerful computing
is available in small packages. Similarly, a...