The “Flight Goggles” system, developed by MIT's Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems along with its Computer Science and Artifical Intelligence Laboratory, reportedly allows the unmanned aerial vehicle to “see” a complete virtual environment and navigate around intangible objects.
“We think this is a game-changer in the development of drone technology, for drones that go fast,” said Sertac Karaman, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT. “If anything, the system can make autonomous speed more responsive, faster, and more efficient.”
Members of the development team will present its findings at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers International Conference on Robotics and Automation next week.
Video footage shows the UAV flying rapidly through what's, in reality, a completely empty room. In virtual reality though, there are several obstacles, and the drone successfully navigates around them. This may not seem exciting to the casual onlooker, but this may help make autonomous drone flight safer and more reliable.