BatDeck：低電力超音波障害物回避によるナノドローン航法の進展
BatDeck: Advancing Nano-drone Navigation with Low-power Ultrasound-based Obstacle Avoidance
コウモリに着想を得て、軽量・低電力の超音波センサをナノドローンに搭載し、透明・反射・吸音素材のある環境でも自律飛行と障害物回避を可能にした研究。
著者: Hanna Müller, Victor Kartsch, Michele Magno, Luca Benini
分類: cs.RO, cs.SY, eess.SY
原文アブストラクト
Nano-drones, distinguished by their agility, minimal weight, and cost-effectiveness, are particularly well-suited for exploration in confined, cluttered and narrow spaces. Recognizing transparent, highly reflective or absorbing materials, such as glass and metallic surfaces is challenging, as classical sensors, such as cameras or laser rangers, often do not detect them. Inspired by bats, which can fly at high speeds in complete darkness with the help of ultrasound, this paper introduces \textit{BatDeck}, a pioneering sensor-deck employing a lightweight and low-power ultrasonic sensor for nano-drone autonomous navigation. This paper first provides insights about sensor characteristics, highlighting the influence of motor noise on the ultrasound readings, then it introduces the results of extensive experimental tests for obstacle avoidance (OA) in a diverse environment. Results show that \textit{BatDeck} allows exploration for a flight time of 8 minutes while covering 136m on average before crash in a challenging environment with transparent and reflective obstacles, proving the effectiveness of ultrasonic sensors for OA on nano-drones.
