Chapter Seven of seventeen
Chapter 7: A.I. & Commercial Drone Technology
I purchased my first real drone back in 2015 for $1,100. It was the IRIS+ by 3D Robotics, which at the time, was touted as the World's First Autonomous Drone. I purchased this particular model, mostly because I was interested in the software side of drone technology, and the IRIS+ was powered by a Pixhawk micro-controller, that provided it with the ability to speak, fly missions, and even follow-me. Five years later, the technology as well as my understanding of such, has evolved immensely. What few understand, and may indeed be hard to comprehend, is the ubiquity of which drone technology will come to dominate in the near future. For now, let us explore the nature of a drone.
What is a Drone?
The standard definition of a drone according to Oxford will not do. We will come up with a more fitting definition. We will define a drone as any remotely controlled object. The popular imagination would likely conjure up visions of a flying contraption. However, the drone spectrum includes the following: aquatic drones, ground drones, self-driving cars, robots, micro-mechanical birds/insects, unmanned aerial vehicles,low-orbit space craft, satellites, deep space probes, and even interstellar or inter-dimensional space craft. But where did the idea or concept of a drone originate from in modern times?
In 1898, it was Nikola Tesla, the real Tesla, who revealed to the world in the middle of Madison Square Garden, a remotely controlled ship that he manipulated from a radio-transmitting control box, maneuvering the device across a pool of water. When asked about his devices potential as a delivery system for explosives, he replied, "You do not see there a wireless torpedo; you see there the first race of robots, mechanical men which will do the laborious work of the human race." It was truly then, that Tesla created the first race of modern drones. There have been many iterations since, and the involvement of Artificial Intelligence has taken Tesla's concept to new levels.
Where Does A.I. Come In?
So where does A.I. come in concerning commercial drone technology? While A.I., of course, appeared in military-grade drones for sometime, it was only until more recently that A.I. become available on consumer-grade drones. It was DJI, the Chinese behemoth in the industry, which currently dominates roughly 75% of the global drone market, that broke ground on A.I. and drone integration. However, the fact that the Chinese drone manufacturer has faced scrutiny from the U.S. government regarding national security concerns, has opened up a unique opportunity for U.S.-based Startups to enter the space, and compete on a global level.
The ground-breaking drone by DJI was the Mavic Pro, which was a fold-able drone with a small and streamlined controller, embedded camera, and more A.I. than was practical. The drone included facial recognition technology, gesture recognition, object detection capabilities, as well sense and avoid technology using computer vision. However, there are limitations currently to the weight a drone can carry, and the computing power available to a drone for processing multiple sensors, cameras, and other inputs, all while running a desktop-grade operating system. Most drones falter at the weight of such tasks in combination. Advances in computer chip design, particularly Graphics Processing Units, and new battery systems will unfetter the potential of the technology in the near future. Returning to the present, what are some examples of modern designs?
What are the Different Drone Types?
Drones come in all different types and flavors. The drones that you hear the most about commercially are four propeller copters, also called quadcopters. They are used for everything from aerial photography and bridge inspections, to drone racing. The quadcopter balances speed with power and agility. The hexacopter is the next design, with six propellers instead of four, providing more power but less agility. The fact that it has six propellers, also provides safety; in the event one propeller is broken or inoperable, it will still fly with five in-tact. The hexacopter is a great working drone.
The next design is the octacopter. This octacopter is akin to a 16-wheeler and with eight propellers, it is able to lift heavy loads and is used extensively in industry. Like the hexacopter, the octacopter can safely return to the home point with one or two propellers missing. Other common designs include fixed-wing for covering large areas, and even hybrid designs, allowing for vertical take-off and horizontal flight for landing in tight spaces while conserving energy in mid-flight. While these are the standard drone designs one may see, let us look at a few exotic designs.
What Are Examples of Exotic Drone Designs?
Our first example of an exotic drone design includes the MIT built plane, that is the first to have no moving parts. While this is not a remotely-controlled drone, it does in-fact have immense implications to the drone industry. Currently, one of the most unappealing aspects of drone technology, is the buzzing sound that propeller-powered drones make. It completely takes away from any privacy and enjoyment. Imagine if your mobile-phone made a loud buzzing noise every time that you wanted to use it? This also will allow for smaller batteries, meaning less weight, longer flight times, higher load capacities, and furthermore, the ability to conduct flight with more advanced technologies on-board.
Our second example of an exotic drone include the E-hang-built Drone Taxi. The human ridable drone, first had trials in the United States, Las Vegas to be exact, with additional plans to make the technology available in Dubai for tourists and businessmen, before the end of 2025. The taxi has a flight time of roughly a half an hour. The vehicle is Eco-friendly as it is electrically powered, providing an advantage over others powered by jet-fuel and other kerosene. The drone design is that of an octacopter, with dual blades, equating to a total of 16 propellers to enhance lift and redundancy for maximum flight safety.
The next drone is interesting as is an amphibious drone of sorts, the Spry+, which is waterproof, as well as the remote is waterproof, and it can fly as well as dive underwater. The buoyancy of the drone, also ensures it will return to the surface after dives. It would be perfectly at home in a James Bond flick. The drone has immense implications on wild-life conservation, fishing, search and rescue, and oceanography as a whole. Drone technology will come to dominate land, sea, air, and space.
What are modern A.I. Drone Applications and/or Use-cases?
Source [Ventureradar.com - Top Commercial Drone Use-cases]
Recently, UPS, in partnership with Wake Forest University began making medical deliveries with WakeMed, using Matternet Drones. The drones deliver important lab and blood samples. It is a step toward the automation of many human processes, and this is not taking into consideration Artificial Intelligence, which will automate many of the processes of diagnosis, prognosis, therapy and medicinal recommendations, as well as other data intensive processes in the healthcare system. The flying drone is only the beginning of a race of machines, remember this.
European Aerospace manufacturer, Airbus, broke the worlds flight endurance record, with a 165-pound solar powered drone. The 25-day flight was a test for more practical operations, such as relaying communications, gathering weather data, covering a natural disaster, or conducting other missions based on client specifications. The drone, called Zephyr, is in direct competition with small cube satellites, that are much cheaper to deploy and manufacture, while staying in orbit for up to a year.
Your DNA survived a few ice ages and pandemics, so understanding IoT, should be a peace of cake.Nasa utilizes A.I. in space in quite a few ways. This includes CIMON, or "Alexa for space"; medical care AI assistance, Multi-temporal Anomaly Detection for SAR Earth Observations, robots, and rovers. The four areas where NASA is currently looking to utilize A.I. and Machine-learning, include: aeronautics, operations, human capital, and IT support. An important use of A.I., involves the TESS Mission, whose primary objective is to survey the brights starts near Earth for transiting exoplanets over a two-year period, surveying 85% of the sky. In particular, working with the TESS mission, NASA uses GAN's, which include Google Cloud's Atmos simulation software, resulting from NASA's FDL astrobiology challenge to simulate alien atmospheres, and another Machine-learning tool, called INARA, or Intelligent Exoplanet Atmosphere Retrieval, trained on the spectral signatures of millions of exoplanets.
There are an infinite amount of drones and drone types. The drone that is necessary for your particular need or use-case may vary wildly. However, the benefit of the drone is that it is flexible, and limitless in its applications and integrations. As battery cell technology improves and different energy technologies come to the forefront, the landscape of drones will continue to change dramatically from one year to the next. It is one of the most rapidly changing and evolving fields. Yet, the power of drone technology will allow us to safely chart unexplored aspects of our own world, deep space, and the multi-verse. Next, we will take a deep dive into the world of A.I. & Autonomous Vehicles, including the Self-Driving Car.
Exercises
What is a drone?
Can you or your team members name at least three different applications for drone technology?
Can drones operate in water, on land, or in Space? Why or why not?
What else could be a drone? Why would consumers or enterprises purchase your drone?
Ean Mikale, J.D., is an eight-time author with 11 years of experience in the AI industry. He serves as the Principal Engineer of Infinite 8 Industries, Inc., and is the IEEE Chair of the Hybrid Quantum-inspired Internet Protocol Industry Connections Group. He has initiated and directed his companies 7-year Nvidia Inception and Metropolis Partnerships. Mikale has created dozens of AI Assistants, many of which are currently in production. His clientele includes Fortune 500 Companies, Big Three Consulting Firms, and leading World Governments. He is a former graduate of IBM's Global Entrepreneur Program, AWS for Startups, Oracle for Startups, and Accelerate with Google. Finally, he is the creator of the World's First Hybrid Quantum Internet Layer, InfiNET. As an Industry Expert, he has also led coursework at Institutions, such as Columbia and MIT. Follow him on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook: @eanmikale