| Phase |
Main goal |
Primary Motivation |
Domains |
Problems to solve |
| 1 |
Standing still in air with automatic self stabilization |
Building a small (< 10 in) and quiet (< 70 dBA) entity, which is able to stay still in the air, stabilize itself automatically, and move in three-dimensional space. Make it as autonomous as possible. |
 |
Mechanical engineering |
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Electrical engineering |
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Aerial robotics |
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Micro Air Vehicles |
|
Micro Modeling, Indoor Flying |
|
|
Because of indoor use, it has to be mechanically safe, e.g., no big rotors like helicopters |
|
Is it possible to do it without wires for energy transmissions and control? (All electronics on board, the batteries light enough?) If not, consider ground station. |
|
| 2 |
Passive vision |
Adding a wireless camera for conveying pictures from otherwise impossible camera positions, e.g., close above crowds of people, as well as complex camera movements like fast and seamless camera travels through narrow and obstacle rich areas. |
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Aerial video and photography |
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AV technology |
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Electronic News Gathering (ENG), Video and TV productions |
|
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Camera and sender as small a possible |
|
Vibration problem |
|
| 3 |
Simple listening capability |
Making it respond to simple verbal requests like Up! Down! Turn left! and Zoom in! |
|
Speech recognition |
|
|
Is speech recognition on board possible? |
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Direct listening: noisy environment problem! |
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Indirect listening: What sort of remote listening device? |
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Distinction between different speakers? |
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What about feedback? |
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| 4 |
|
Active vision |
|
Simple tasks |
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Simple morality |
|
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Adding sensors to improve its perception of the environment for human and non-human obstacle avoidance, as well as for evasive behavior |
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Making it able to understand and carry out tasks like Come here! and Leave me alone! |
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Implementing simple moral prime directive Do not harm anybody or anything |
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Sensing technology |
|
|
What is the accuracy and range of the sensors? |
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What is the evasion strategy? |
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How does it recognize and localize a speaker? |
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Reactions of uninvolved humans to FFMP |
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| 5 |
Complex tasks |
Adding more vision and natural language understanding to make it behave like an artificial pet; understanding complex verbal requests like Follow me! Follow this man in a distance of 5 meters! Give me a close up of John! |
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Vision processing |
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Natural language processing |
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Psychological, sociological, and journalistic implications of widespread use of FFMPs, e.g. in Electronic News Gathering: acceptance, perceived annoyance, etc. |
| 6 |
Adaptation to environment, emergent robotic behavior |
Creating an adaptive, behavior-based autonomous mobot, which learns from interaction with the environment about dangerous objects and situations, as well as about its power management and flying behavior. |
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Artificial life, Adaptive behavior |
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Genetic Algorithms, Classifier Systems, Genetic Programming |
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| 7 |
Use of tools |
Modifying it so that it can use external physical tools for simple self repair and self reproduction |
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| 8 |
|
Intellect |
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Cross cultural morality |
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Improving the intelligence up to Artilect stage (artificial intellect, ultra-intelligent machine) |
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Connecting an Artificial Multi Ethical Advisor System (AMEAS, Cross Cultural Ethical Knowledge) to make sure its behavior is always ethically correct |
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Neuro Engineering |
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Philosophy, ethics; expert systems |
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Can we trust it? |
Last updated May 23 1998.