SHERPA: A Life Saving UAV Quadcopter Project in the Alps

Scientists at the University of Twente are working on robots that are expected to save lives in calamity situations in the Alps.

The emphasis within this SHERPA project is on cooperation between human rescue workers, the ground robot ('ground rover') with a robotic arm and flying robots.

This week all the members of the SHERPA consortium will meet in Twente in order to harmonize their results and to experiment with the various parts of the robot platform.

It is because of scientific innovations that robots are increasingly being relocated from predictable environments such as factories, to locations where calamities can occur, such as the Alps.

The robots of the SHERPA project provide rescue workers with support during their tasks, for instance, after an avalanche.

In extreme, dangerous cases, these robots can even take over some aspects of the work of their human team-members by locating victims. SHERPA will greatly increase the chance of saving victims.

Humans and robots working together
What is unique about SHERPA is the cooperation between humans and robots, each with their own qualities, in order to achieve a common goal: saving lives.

The emphasis with robots is on their autonomy, cognitive capacities, strategy for cooperation and in the interaction with their human colleagues.'

Together, humans and robots will form rescue teams that the Italian organization of rescue workers has stationed in the Alps.

On behalf of the University of Twente (UT), Raffaella Carloni and other members of the Robotics and Mechatronics group (CTIT institute) and the LEO Centre for Service Robotics are working on the mechanical design, the control mechanism and realizing the robotic arm.

This arm is being developed and constructed in Twente and will be mounted onto the ground robot.

Furthermore, the UT is focussing on technological support of the interaction between humans and robots.

The robotic arm is capable of grasping the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), i.e., the flying robot, while it is airborne and placing it on the charger for the ground robot.

This innovative robotic arm is unique because it rigidity can be adjusted to a task. In addition, the arm is more resilient to shocks and vibrations than the current generation of robotic arms.

To provide a rescue worker who is operating the airborne robot with the best possible technological support, he or she will be equipped with sensors and portable technology. This too is, in part, a 'task of ' the UT.

The enormous advantage of this approach is that a rescue worker has optimum perception and can respond adequately to a possible calamity situation without actually having to be present at the site of the calamity.

The Sensors measure the robot's dynamic movements, such as position, speed and resistance. Because of the robot's cognitive algorithms, the robot and human can jointly seek victims and determine their actions in order to save human lives.

Intel Make it Wearable Challenge: Team Nixie Quadcopter - Video

Intel is looking for the innovators who will design the next big wearable technology. Are you one of them? Enter the Make It Wearable Challenge

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Team Nixie is developing the first wearable drone camera, which can be worn around your wrist.

The team will be presenting their prototype for the Intel Make It Wearable Challenge Finale on November 3, 2014 in San Francisco.

Learn more about Make It Wearable and follow the race to the finish line.

SPARKED: Cirque du Soleil's flying lampshades - Quadcopter technology - Video

Dance of the Quadcopters? Cirque du Soleil, ETH Zurich, and Verity Studios have partnered to develop a film that shows 10 quadcopters in performance.

What would one expect with the name-brand Cirque du Soleil? Humans and drones move in sync.

ETH Zurich comes into the mix with precise computer control for the performance of human and machine movements.

The technology team would be tasked with achieving seamless coordination of multiple vehicles, designing suitable trajectories and high-reliability infrastructure to pull off a successful film shoot.

Called SPARKED, this performance was fundamentally an exploration to see how state of-the-art technology can be used in the realm of entertainment.

The result was a human actor placed with quadcopters in a symbiotic, choreographed performance.

In achieving the magical visual effects, no CGI or wires, slow-mo or fast-forwards were used, said the creators.


Raffaello D'Andrea, professor at ETH Zurich, said he and his team have been doing research with flying machines and using algorithms they developed in order to dynamically control the machines with precision.

The ETH Zurich researchers have explored quad control and state estimation, trajectory generation, increased autonomy, adaptation and learning, high-precision flight maneuvers, aerial construction and cooperation among multiple vehicles.

At the start of this collaborative project, the creators thought about what types of interactions they would have.

Imaginations ran a wide course for potential effects. Welby Altidor, Executive Creative Director of Creations, Cirque du Soleil, said it was fun to imagine and ask what else we could put on them?

Is it possible to make them disappear?

"We came up with all kinds of ideas. We even had flying heads."

They talked about lights on the quadcopters and then "at some point, almost by accident," he said, some colleagues joked about lampshades, and that made him stop in his tracks.

"I said, wait a minute, did you say lampshades?" The concept sparked a workshop of flying lampshades.

The film shoot took place in the Flying Machine Arena at ETH Zurich, a space for work in autonomous flight.

Along with flying machines at this space, there is a high-precision motion capture system, wireless communication network and custom software at play for algorithms providing estimation and control.

According to the arena website, "The motion capture system can locate multiple objects in the space at rates exceeding 200 frames per second."

"While this may seem extremely fast, the objects in the space can move at speeds in excess of 10 m/s, resulting in displacements of over 5 cm between successive snapshots."

"This information is fused with other data and models of the system dynamics to predict the state of the objects into the future."

The system uses the knowledge to determine what commands the vehicles should execute to achieve moves such as high-speed flips, balancing objects, or playing paddle-ball.

Via wireless links, the system sends the commands to the vehicles, executing them with on-board computers and sensors such as rate gyros and accelerometers.

Prof. D'Andrea posed and answered the broader question: "Is there a future for this in performing arts? Absolutely. We're just getting started."