Autonomous drones typically use the GPS satellite navigation system to navigate autonomously. In the absence of sufficient GPS coverage, many drones rely on cameras. Both technologies have drawbacks. Researchers involved in the CARNIVAL project are currently working on new methods to improve radar navigation.
Assistive robots are already in use in many operating theatres. However, they are often only used as teleoperators or assistants that hold and direct tools. Researchers at the University of Klagenfurt are working on new technologies that will enable robots to perform new tasks during operations. The algorithms developed in recent years are now being validated in cooperation with KABEG.
The construction industry is also benefiting from digitalisation: BIM (Building Information Modelling) creates digital twins of construction projects, from planning to maintenance. To ensure that the condition of civil infrastructure such as bridges can be continuously mapped in the digital twin, it is planned to collect data from swarms of drones in the future. In a project funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), researchers at the University of Klagenfurt are now developing a technology that will increase the reliability and robustness of inspection missions by swarms of drones.
Stephan Weiss and Christian Brommer (from the Control of Networked Systems research group) have received the award in the category “Research Institutions” for their innovation “Modular Sensor Fusion”. The award was presented on 27 April by State Governor Peter Kaiser and KWF Executive Director Sandra Venus.
Typically, drone flight data is generated under laboratory conditions – thus limiting its use for real-world application development. A team of researchers from Klagenfurt, working with two researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, has now published the first large pool of real-world measurement data. The data was generated in and around the Klagenfurt drone hall and in the context of the AMADEE20 Mars simulation in Israel.
Cleaning the hull of a container ship currently takes around eight days and costs between 100,000 and 200,000 euros. A team including researchers at the Department of Smart Systems Technologies aims to use autonomous robots for this task. Trials are currently underway on Lake Wörthersee.
Along with the inventors, Christian Brommer and Stephan Weiss, the dronehub in Klagenfurt has recently been granted another patent. Weiss and Brommer perform research in the Control of Networked Systems (CNS) group with a focus on how to improve localization and navigation methods for robots and small helicopters.
Drones and robots struggle to navigate autonomously in the dark and in dusty settings. Researchers at the University of Klagenfurt are now developing a new technology that relies on radar sensors for navigation.
Foto: MUS_GRAPHIC/Adobestock
Foto: Daniel Waschnig
R3nder/Adobestock
© KWF/Johannes Puch
Drohnenhalle | Foto: aau/Waschnig
aau/CNS
Foto: Tischler-Banfield