Three drones were tested by DARPA as part of its Fast Lightweight Autonomy program. The mission was to fly autonomously with a targeted speed of 20 metres a second, and it was deemed a success.
According to DARPA, the program is aimed to “develop and demonstrate autonomous UAVs small enough to fit through an open window and able to fly at speeds up to 20 metres per second (45 miles per hour) – while avoiding objects within complex indoor spaces independent of communication with outside operators or sensors and without reliance on GPS.”
There were three teams that developed the quadcopters. Darpa however, did not mention which team performed best, but they all worked a common quadcopter. The specifications of these drones are a commercial DJI Flamewheel 450 airframe, E600 motors with 12″ propellers, and 3DR Pixhawk autopilot that is capable of achieving the required flight speed of 20 meters per second, while carrying high-definition on-board cameras and other sensors, such as LIDAR, sonar and inertial measurement units.
Below will be the video by DARPA. Enjoy!
[gdlr_video url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaXc-jmN89U ]
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