Swarm of Autonomous Tiny Drones Can Localize Gas Leaks

         

        Accidents happen all the time. It is sometimes preventable and sometimes not. On average, there are 4,200 home structure fires per year started with the ignition of natural gas (nfpa.org). When a leak is created, human firefighters are called upon to figure it out. These firefighters will use gas sensing instruments to enter either the residence or industrial site to locate the leak which often takes a significant amount of time. Along with that, they are increasing the risk to their lives. Fortunately, researchers at TU Delft, University of Barcelona, and Harvard University have created the first prototype of a very small swarm of very safe drones that can automatically identify and centralize gas sources in congested environments indoors. During their research, the biggest trouble they discovered was designing artificial intelligence (AI) that could be placed very carefully in the drones' tight computational and memory parameters. To solve this challenge the researchers introduced bio-spired navigation and search strategies.

        Autonomous identification of a gas leak is complex. The reason is that artificial gas sensors are at this time, less than capable compared to animal noses to detect small amounts of gas while staying alert to rapid changes in gas concentration. Furthermore, gas will spread within an environment making it more complex. The information from the researchers focused the majority on solo robots that quickly identify a gas source in a small, obstacle-free environment that allows sourcing to be easier. According to Guido de Croon, Full Professor at the Micro Air Vehicle Laboratory of TU Delft, "We are convinced that swarms of tony drones are a promising avenue of autonomous gas source localization. The drones' tiny size makes them very safe to any humans and property still in the building, while their flying capability will allow them to eventually search for the source in three dimensions."

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210714110540.htm