NSU scientists, together with engineers from "Smart Drones" (SmartDrones platform) and specialists from the Siberian Fire and Rescue Academy, have developed a drone swarm management algorithm that allows devices to interact according to the "detection-delivery" scheme. The technology was successfully tested on June 20 at an on-site meeting in the Ordynsky District with representatives of the authorities and the agro-industrial sector.
The first drone analyzes the area, detects an object (for example, a person in an emergency zone), and transmits the coordinates to the second drone, which automatically delivers the cargo (water, medicine, etc.). The algorithm is scalable — it can be adapted to any number of drones and types of objects.
Following the tests, we decided to combine two technologies and try to work them out in a complex, namely: one drone, controlled using the specialized SmartDrones software developed by our company, automatically analyzes data from a video camera, detects a person, and transmits his coordinates to the second drone developed by NSU. The second UAV automatically delivers the necessary package to the specified coordinates, which may include water, medicine, etc. Over two months, we took the necessary steps to integrate and presented the new technology in action at an on-site meeting that took place at the end of last week.
The development became a continuation of the April tests, when the NSU drone successfully overcame 4.5 km over the Ob, delivering cargo to a hard-to-reach area. The next stage is the creation of a digital platform that will allow drones to make decisions: for example, determine which device will deliver assistance faster.
In the future, we plan to conduct testing on a larger number of devices, when we may have several drones, each of which monitors its square and solves the problem of detecting different types of objects that need different types of delivery — water, medicine, a life jacket, etc. In the future, the technology can be scaled to an unlimited number of devices. In addition, the platform being developed will allow drones to make different joint decisions. For example, calculate the distance to the object and determine who will fly to it faster and deliver, for example, a first-aid kit to the victim; how to act in case of loss of communication with one of the UAVs, etc. All these algorithms will be worked out and implemented on the basis of the SmartDrones digital platform.
The technology can be used in various fields, for example:
- Agriculture (field monitoring, fertilizer delivery)
- Saving people (search for victims, emergency delivery of medicines)
- Logistics (delivery of goods to remote areas)
The company "Smart Drones", a resident of Academpark, is already developing the SmartDrones Fires system for detecting fires using AI.
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