Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –
Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –
Scientists at Novosibirsk State University have developed a new model of an unmanned aerial vehicle that will be used to deliver goods to hard-to-reach areas. Last week, a test flight was conducted in the Novosibirsk Region: the drone successfully covered a distance of 4.5 km across the Ob River and delivered the goods to their destination.
The achievement of the scientists was commented on by the head of the Nizhnekamensk village council of the Ordynsky district of the Novosibirsk region, Natalya Yuryevna Guseva:
—I believe that the latest development, the “delivery drone,” is a time-saver and a great opportunity for residents of the right bank to deliver, for example, medicines that are not available at our pharmacy, or a small parcel from the marketplace! The test flight was successful, so I would like to wish the scientists of the Novosibirsk State University good luck and further development!”
The new development is the next stage in the development of a line of unmanned aerial vehicles, which NSU has been working on for the third year. The development team includes employees Research Center in the field of artificial intelligence of NSU, students Institute of Intelligent Robotics And Higher College of Informatics NSU, as well as employees of the Siberian Fire and Rescue Academy of the State Fire Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia and developers of a small innovative enterprise at NSU.
— Now we understand that we have reached the next level: we can make a drone that will fly along a route in automatic mode, perform a certain action and return to the starting point, that is, these are fully autonomous machines. The creation of such devices is a pressing problem that is being solved not only in Russia. And we have a chance to make such a machine among the first, — said Alexey Okunev, director of the Institute of Intelligent Robotics at NSU.
The delivery drone was designed at NSU: the developers independently design and print the parts of the device on a 3D printer. The UAV has imported electronics, but a significant part of the software, which is responsible for the logic of the device’s actions, flight control, processes the video signal, data from the sensors, is NSU’s own development. The drone uses odometry on the underlying surface (a method of measuring coordinates using machine vision) – a solution also developed at NSU. In the near future, it will be improved by introducing neural networks, which will allow the drone to determine its location with even greater accuracy, so that it is less dependent on the GPS signal.
The new development has social significance and will find application in the delivery of goods, primarily to hard-to-reach areas. For example, to settlements in the territory of the Nizhnekamensk village council of the Ordynsky district of the Novosibirsk region, where the test flight was conducted. In the spring, when the ice crossing over the Obuv River is closed and the ferry has not yet started running, the village is deprived of land and ground communication for almost two weeks. If you carry out delivery by drone from the Ordynskoye workers’ settlement, you can do it directly across the river: the distance is only 4.5 km, which the UAV covers in 5 minutes. There are many such areas in Russia, the transport accessibility of which is limited for various reasons.
— We plan to work in completely unprepared places: there is no need to create special infrastructure, build and equip airfields, drone ports, and so on. Our equipment must be as unpretentious and exceptionally smart as possible, because it needs to figure out, find and choose a place to land on its own. Now the first stage of technology development is underway — we are checking that this design is really capable of doing what is needed. The main element is that it will be able to fly over a river, leave the cargo and return back. Or simply bring the cargo one way and land. Last week we successfully conducted the first tests, — Alexey Okunev explained.
Currently, the weight of goods that a drone can transport is limited to 500 grams. During the test flight, the drone delivered a set of medicines. The UAV can be used in any weather conditions, except for heavy rains and strong winds.
The developers plan to produce a pilot batch of up to 5 units by summer and launch the delivery service for test operation: in the territory of the Nizhnekamensk village council in the summer there are a large number of vacationers, for whom drone delivery will save time on purchasing goods, rather than taking a ferry to the other side every time they need to urgently buy something.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.