Citation

Floreano D, Wood RJ. Nature 2015; 521(7553): 460-466.

Affiliation

Microrobotics Lab, Harvard University, 149 Maxwell Dworkin Building, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1038/nature14542

PMID

26017445

Abstract

We are witnessing the advent of a new era of robots - drones - that can autonomously fly in natural and man-made environments. These robots, often associated with defence applications, could have a major impact on civilian tasks, including transportation, communication, agriculture, disaster mitigation and environment preservation. Autonomous flight in confined spaces presents great scientific and technical challenges owing to the energetic cost of staying airborne and to the perceptual intelligence required to negotiate complex environments. We identify scientific and technological advances that are expected to translate, within appropriate regulatory frameworks, into pervasive use of autonomous drones for civilian applications.

Language: en