The FRAC Centre in Orléans, France will for the first time host an exhibition to be built entirely by flying robots. Titled "Flight Assembled Architecture," the six meter-high tower will be made up of 1,500 prefabricated polystyrene foam modules. The exhibition has been developed by Swiss architect Gramazio & Kohler and Italian robot designer Raffaello D'Andrea, to inspire new methods of thinking about architecture as a "physical process of dynamic formation."
The installation involves a fleet of quadrocopters that are programmed to interact, lift, transport and assemble the final tower, all the time receiving commands wirelessly from a local control room. The tower, which will boast a height of 6 meters (19.7 feet) and a diameter of 3.5 meters (11.5 feet), will be constructed within a 10 x 10 x 10 meter (32.8 x 32.8 x 32.8 foot) airspace, in which up to 50 vehicles can be tracked simultaneously at a rate of 370 frames per second with millimeter accuracy. This "Flying Machine Arena" was developed by D'Andrea, and features a state-of-the-art motion capture system.
Each quadrocopter is fitted with custom electronics and onboard sensors to allow for precision vehicle control, whilst also providing the opportunity for pre-programmed flight paths, which could include arcs and spirals. Furthermore, the fleet management technology helps avoid collisions by taking over when the flying robots get too close to each other. The same technology is also used for automating routine take-offs, landings and vehicle calibration and charging.
The Flight Assembled Architecture exhibition will be on display at the FRAC Centre from December 2 through to February 19, 2012.
Check out D'Andrea's Flying Machine Arena and the impressive quadrocopter moves in the video below.
Fast Transitions of a Quadrocopter Fleet Using Convex Optimization
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwK7WvvUvlI&feature=player_embedded
Source gizmag http://www.gizmag.com/flying-robots-to-build-6-meter-tower/20639/
Comments
that would be funny :)
@anish,
if it was like the GRASP lab experiment, likely magnets. Make sense as the extra weight will allow better positioning of each piece.
I hope no spectator walks in with a IR beacon/pen laser, etc...Then it will be a game of jenga.
benny, that's a good point. it would be perfect if a copter has it's own top and bottom cage to protect the props from doing any damage or causing harm. it would also make testing so much safer. i guess the protector would have to be a couple of parts that somehow clip together to maintain strength
love the youtube video .a great display. i wonder if we can use tennis rackets above and below the props. if the cage was a little wider this would be a very good safety feature. i know it needs to be very light weight but this shows that it might be possible to have safer quads
i recon the foam looks like the heavy stuff used for some sports. the utube video is pretty cool. I wonder if we can use a kinect to do the same. indoor acrobatics seems like a good project for the winter:)
thought came across another blog post with lesser details. Looks awesome, question around how the polystyerene foam survive all turbulence caused by all the quads....