skip to main content


Title: Miniature Autonomous Blimps for Indoor Applications
Miniature autonomous blimps are autonomous lighter-than-air vehicles that offer a variety of benefits over other existing flight platforms. In particular, blimps offer long flight times, soft envelopes that are resilient to collisions, and friendly human-robot interaction opportunities. As such, these platforms are well suited for indoor applications and human-cluttered environments as catastrophic or life-threatening collisions are far less likely. In this abstract, we detail some of our ongoing efforts to enable autonomous behaviors for lighter-than-air platforms through various sensing, actuation, and swarming efforts.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1849228
NSF-PAR ID:
10359104
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
AIAA SCITECH 2022 Forum
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Suuberg, Eric (Ed.)
    This study introduces an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization method that relies on low-energy thermal collisions (i.e., <0.05 eV) of aerosolized analytes with bipolar ions pre-seeded in a sample dilution flow and allows for the detection of weakly bound molecular clusters. Herein, the potential of the method is explored in the context of soot inception by performing mass spectrometric analysis of a laminar premixed flame of ethylene and air whose products are sampled through a tiny orifice and quickly diluted in nitrogen pre-flowed through a Kr85 based neutralizer to generate the bipolar ions. Analyses were performed with an Atmospheric Pressure Interface Time-of-Flight (APi-TOF, Tofwerk AG) Mass Spectrometer whose high sensitivity, mass accuracy, and resolution (over 4000) allowed for the discrimination of the flame products from the pre-seeded ions. Since ionization of neutrals occurs by either ion attachment or charge exchange following ion collision, the identification of the origin of each peak in the measured mass spectra is not-trivial. Nevertheless, the results provide valuable information on the overall elemental composition of the neutral flame products ionized in either polarity. Results show that the clustering of hydrocarbons lighter than 400 Da and having a C/H ratio between 2 and 3 leads to soot inception in the flame. The dehydrogenation of the flame products, expected to occur as they are convected in the flame, is observed only for measurements in positive polarity because of a higher probability of soot nuclei and precursors to get a positive rather than a negative charge. 
    more » « less
  2. null (Ed.)
    With increasing urban population, there is global interest in Urban Air Mobility (UAM), where hundreds of autonomous Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) execute missions in the airspace above cities. Unlike traditional human-inthe-loop air traffic management, UAM requires decentralized autonomous approaches that scale for an order of magnitude higher aircraft densities and are applicable to urban settings. We present Learning-to-Fly (L2F), a decentralized on-demand airborne collision avoidance framework for multiple UAS that allows them to independently plan and safely execute missions with spatial, temporal and reactive objectives expressed using Signal Temporal Logic. We formulate the problem of predictively avoiding collisions between two UAS without violating mission objectives as a Mixed Integer Linear Program (MILP). This however is intractable to solve online. Instead, we develop L2F, a two-stage collision avoidance method that consists of: 1) a learning-based decision-making scheme and 2) a distributed, linear programming-based UAS control algorithm. Through extensive simulations, we show the real-time applicability of our method which is ≈6000× faster than the MILP approach and can resolve 100% of collisions when there is ample room to maneuver, and shows graceful degradation in performance otherwise. We also compare L2F to two other methods and demonstrate an implementation on quad-rotor robots. 
    more » « less
  3. In this paper, we outline the need for a coordinated international effort toward the building of an open-access Global Ocean Oxygen Database and ATlas (GO 2 DAT) complying with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable). GO 2 DAT will combine data from the coastal and open ocean, as measured by the chemical Winkler titration method or by sensors (e.g., optodes, electrodes) from Eulerian and Lagrangian platforms (e.g., ships, moorings, profiling floats, gliders, ships of opportunities, marine mammals, cabled observatories). GO 2 DAT will further adopt a community-agreed, fully documented metadata format and a consistent quality control (QC) procedure and quality flagging (QF) system. GO 2 DAT will serve to support the development of advanced data analysis and biogeochemical models for improving our mapping, understanding and forecasting capabilities for ocean O 2 changes and deoxygenation trends. It will offer the opportunity to develop quality-controlled data synthesis products with unprecedented spatial (vertical and horizontal) and temporal (sub-seasonal to multi-decadal) resolution. These products will support model assessment, improvement and evaluation as well as the development of climate and ocean health indicators. They will further support the decision-making processes associated with the emerging blue economy, the conservation of marine resources and their associated ecosystem services and the development of management tools required by a diverse community of users (e.g., environmental agencies, aquaculture, and fishing sectors). A better knowledge base of the spatial and temporal variations of marine O 2 will improve our understanding of the ocean O 2 budget, and allow better quantification of the Earth’s carbon and heat budgets. With the ever-increasing need to protect and sustainably manage ocean services, GO 2 DAT will allow scientists to fully harness the increasing volumes of O 2 data already delivered by the expanding global ocean observing system and enable smooth incorporation of much higher quantities of data from autonomous platforms in the open ocean and coastal areas into comprehensive data products in the years to come. This paper aims at engaging the community (e.g., scientists, data managers, policy makers, service users) toward the development of GO 2 DAT within the framework of the UN Global Ocean Oxygen Decade (GOOD) program recently endorsed by IOC-UNESCO. A roadmap toward GO 2 DAT is proposed highlighting the efforts needed (e.g., in terms of human resources). 
    more » « less
  4. Abstract Recent observations of wingless animals, including jumping nematodes, springtails, insects, and wingless vertebrates like geckos, snakes, and salamanders, have shown that their adaptations and body morphing are essential for rapid self-righting and controlled landing. These skills can reduce the risk of physical damage during collision, minimize recoil during landing, and allow for a quick escape response to minimize predation risk. The size, mass distribution, and speed of an animal determine its self-righting method, with larger animals depending on the conservation of angular momentum and smaller animals primarily using aerodynamic forces. Many animals falling through the air, from nematodes to salamanders, adopt a skydiving posture while descending. Similarly, plant seeds such as dandelions and samaras are able to turn upright in mid-air using aerodynamic forces and produce high decelerations. These aerial capabilities allow for a wide dispersal range, low-impact collisions, and effective landing and settling. Recently, small robots that can right themselves for controlled landings have been designed based on principles of aerial maneuvering in animals. Further research into the effects of unsteady flows on self-righting and landing in small arthropods, particularly those exhibiting explosive catapulting, could reveal how morphological features, flow dynamics, and physical mechanisms contribute to effective mid-air control. More broadly, studying apterygote (wingless insects) landing could also provide insight into the origin of insect flight. These research efforts have the potential to lead to the bio-inspired design of aerial micro-vehicles, sports projectiles, parachutes, and impulsive robots that can land upright in unsteady flow conditions. 
    more » « less
  5. null (Ed.)
    Abstract. The science guiding the EUREC4A campaign and its measurements is presented. EUREC4A comprised roughly 5 weeks of measurements in the downstream winter trades of the North Atlantic – eastward and southeastward of Barbados. Through its ability to characterize processes operating across a wide range of scales, EUREC4A marked a turning point in our ability to observationally study factors influencing clouds in the trades, how they will respond to warming, and their link to other components of the earth system, such as upper-ocean processes or the life cycle of particulate matter. This characterization was made possible by thousands (2500) of sondes distributed to measure circulations on meso- (200 km) and larger (500 km) scales, roughly 400 h of flight time by four heavily instrumented research aircraft; four global-class research vessels; an advanced ground-based cloud observatory; scores of autonomous observing platforms operating in the upper ocean (nearly 10 000 profiles), lower atmosphere (continuous profiling), and along the air–sea interface; a network of water stable isotopologue measurements; targeted tasking of satellite remote sensing; and modeling with a new generation of weather and climate models. In addition to providing an outline of the novel measurements and their composition into a unified and coordinated campaign, the six distinct scientific facets that EUREC4A explored – from North Brazil Current rings to turbulence-induced clustering of cloud droplets and its influence on warm-rain formation – are presented along with an overview of EUREC4A's outreach activities, environmental impact, and guidelines for scientific practice. Track data for all platforms are standardized and accessible at https://doi.org/10.25326/165 (Stevens, 2021), and a film documenting the campaign is provided as a video supplement. 
    more » « less