Meet the dazzling flying machines of the future | Raffaello D'Andrea

翻译人员: victor chen 校对人员: Wendy Wu

What started as a platform for hobbyists

我们从一个爱好者的平台开始，

is poised to become a multibillion-dollar industry.

逐渐发展成数十亿美元的产业。

Inspection, environmental monitoring, photography and film and journalism:

侦查、环境监控、摄影、电影， 还有新闻业：

these are some of the potential applications for commercial drones,

这些是无人机商业化的一些潜在应用，

它们的推动力来自 世界各地的研究机构

and their enablers are the capabilities being developed

at research facilities around the world.

正在开发的各种功能。

For example, before aerial package delivery

举个例子， 在航空包裹递送

entered our social consciousness,

进入我们的社会认知之前，

an autonomous fleet of flying machines built a six-meter-tall tower

一个自动化的飞行器小队 就曾在法国的FRAC中心，

composed of 1,500 bricks

在现场观众面前，

in front of a live audience at the FRAC Centre in France,

用1500块砖块建了6米高的塔，

and several years ago, they started to fly with ropes.

几年前它们开始带着绳索飞行。

By tethering flying machines,

用绳子系住这些飞行器，

they can achieve high speeds and accelerations in very tight spaces.

可以让它们在极窄的空间里 实现极快的速度和加速。

它们还可以自动地建构 可伸长的结构。

They can also autonomously build tensile structures.

Skills learned include how to carry loads,

它们学会到如何装载，

how to cope with disturbances,

如何应对障碍物，

以及概括地说，如何与 这个物理世界相互作用等等的技巧。

and in general, how to interact with the physical world.

Today we want to show you some new projects that we've been working on.

今天我想展示几个 我们正在进行的新项目。

Their aim is to push the boundary of what can be achieved

它们的目标是尽所能地扩展

with autonomous flight.

自动化飞行领域的应用范围。

Now, for a system to function autonomously,

现在， 对于一个拥有自动化功能的系统，

it must collectively know the location of its mobile objects in space.

它必须全面地了解 它的移动物体在空间中的位置。

回到我们在苏黎世联邦理工学院 （ETH Zurich）的实验室，

Back at our lab at ETH Zurich,

we often use external cameras to locate objects,

我们经常用外部的摄像头去定位目标，

which then allows us to focus our efforts

它可以让我们将精力专注于

on the rapid development of highly dynamic tasks.

高动态任务的快速开发上。

For the demos you will see today, however,

但对于你们今天要看到的演示来说，

we will use new localization technology developed by Verity Studios,

我们打算采用由“真实工作室”开发的 新的定位技术，

a spin-off from our lab.

它是我们实验室的一个分支机构。

There are no external cameras.

它们外面没有摄像头，

Each flying machine uses onboard sensors to determine its location in space

每个飞行器用机载传感器来确定 它在空间当中的位置，

and onboard computation to determine what its actions should be.

并通过机载计算来决定它 需要进行的行动。

The only external commands are high-level ones

唯一的外部命令都是高级命令，

such as "take off" and "land."

比如“起飞”或者“着陆”。

This is a so-called tail-sitter.

这就是所谓的立式垂直起落机。

It's an aircraft that tries to have its cake and eat it.

它就好像是一个 什么都想实现的飞机器。

Like other fixed-wing aircraft, it is efficient in forward flight,

和其他固定机翼的飞行器一样， 它向前飞行的效率更高，

much more so than helicopters and variations thereof.

要比直升飞机和其变种强得多，

Unlike most other fixed-wing aircraft, however,

但又不像其他固定机翼的飞行器，

it is capable of hovering,

它能够悬停，

which has huge advantages for takeoff, landing

这让它在起飞、着陆和常见的动作上

and general versatility.

拥有巨大的优势。

There is no free lunch, unfortunately.

可惜世界上没有免费的午餐。

One of the limitations with tail-sitters

一个限制因素就是

is that they're susceptible to disturbances such as wind gusts.

它们容易受到干扰，比如风吹。

We're developing new control architectures and algorithms

我们正在开发新的控制架构和算法

来打破这个限制。

that address this limitation.

The idea is for the aircraft to recover

我们的想法是让飞行器无论如何

no matter what state it finds itself in,

都能恢复初始状态，

and through practice, improve its performance over time.

并且通过练习，还能逐渐提升性能。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

OK.

好的。

When doing research,

在做研究的时候，

we often ask ourselves fundamental abstract questions

我们会问自己一些基本的抽象问题，

that try to get at the heart of a matter.

试图了解问题的关键。

For example, one such question would be,

举个例子，一个问题可能是，

what is the minimum number of moving parts needed for controlled flight?

受控飞行 所需的最小组件数量是多少？

Now, there are practical reasons

现在也有一些现实的原因

why you may want to know the answer to such a question.

让你想知道这类问题的答案。

Helicopters, for example,

举个例子，直升机，

人们根深蒂固地认为 它有数千个零部件组成，

are affectionately known as machines with a thousand moving parts

all conspiring to do you bodily harm.

这些部件都“处心积虑地” 想要对你的身体造成伤害。

It turns out that decades ago,

事实证明数十年以前，

skilled pilots were able to fly remote-controlled aircraft

有经验的飞行员就已经可以 操控遥控飞机了，

that had only two moving parts:

这些飞机只有两个活动部件：

a propeller and a tail rudder.

螺旋桨和尾翼。

We recently discovered that it could be done with just one.

我们最近发现活动部件 只要一个就够了。

This is the monospinner,

这就是单螺旋机，

the world's mechanically simplest controllable flying machine,

世界上机械结构最简单的 可控飞行器，

invented just a few months ago.

几个月前才被发明出来。

It has only one moving part, a propeller.

它只有一个活动部件，即螺旋桨。

It has no flaps, no hinges, no ailerons,

它没有襟翼、铰链和副翼，

no other actuators, no other control surfaces,

没有其他的制动器和控制面板，

just a simple propeller.

只有一个简单的螺旋桨。

Even though it's mechanically simple,

即使机械结构很简单，

there's a lot going on in its little electronic brain

它里面的微电脑却在不断

to allow it to fly in a stable fashion and to move anywhere it wants in space.

让它能稳定飞行， 并到达任何想去的地方。

Even so, it doesn't yet have

即便如此 ，它还没有

the sophisticated algorithms of the tail-sitter,

立式起落机的复杂算法，

也就是说要让它飞的话，

which means that in order to get it to fly,

我要用正确的方式把它扔出去。

I have to throw it just right.

And because the probability of me throwing it just right is very low,

考虑到我正确扔出的概率非常低，

given everybody watching me,

毕竟大家都在看我，

what we're going to do instead

所以我们就展示一下

is show you a video that we shot last night.

我们昨天晚上拍摄的视频吧。

(Laughter)

（笑）

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

If the monospinner is an exercise in frugality,

如果说单螺旋机只是在做简单的运动，

this machine here, the omnicopter, with its eight propellers,

那么这个机器， 带有八个螺旋桨的全向直升机，

is an exercise in excess.

肯定是在做超量的运动了。

What can you do with all this surplus?

你可以用这些额外的功能做什么呢？

The thing to notice is that it is highly symmetric.

要注意它是高度对称的。

As a result, it is ambivalent to orientation.

因此，它完全不具有方向性。

This gives it an extraordinary capability.

这给了它一个不同寻常的能力。

It can move anywhere it wants in space

它可以在空中随意移动

irrespective of where it is facing

而不用考虑它面对的方向，

and even of how it is rotating.

甚至不用考虑如何旋转。

It has its own complexities,

它有它的复杂性，

mainly having to do with the interacting flows

主要问题都和它的8个螺旋桨

from its eight propellers.

所产生的交互气流有关。

Some of this can be modeled, while the rest can be learned on the fly.

有些问题可以通过建模解决， 而剩下的可以在飞行中学习。

Let's take a look.

我们来看一下。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

If flying machines are going to enter part of our daily lives,

如果飞行器要进入到我们的 日常生活当中，

they will need to become extremely safe and reliable.

它们就需要变得非常安全可靠。

This machine over here

我手中的这个机器实际上

is actually two separate two-propeller flying machines.

是两个独立的双螺旋桨飞行器。

This one wants to spin clockwise.

这一个想要顺时针旋转。

This other one wants to spin counterclockwise.

另一个想要逆时针旋转。

When you put them together,

当你把它们放在一起，

they behave like one high-performance quadrocopter.

它们运行起来 就像一架高性能的四轴无人机。

If anything goes wrong, however --

可是如果发生了意外，

a motor fails, a propeller fails, electronics, even a battery pack --

电机故障，螺旋桨故障， 电子组件，甚至电池组故障，

the machine can still fly, albeit in a degraded fashion.

这个机器依然能飞， 尽管性能会有所下降。

We're going to demonstrate this to you now by disabling one of its halves.

现在我们将展示一下 其中一半被禁用的情况。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

This last demonstration

最后这个演示

is an exploration of synthetic swarms.

是关于协作机群的探索。

The large number of autonomous, coordinated entities

大量自动化的协作实体机

offers a new palette for aesthetic expression.

为美学表达提供了一个全新的 器械平台。

We've taken commercially available micro quadcopters,

我们已经将微四轴飞行器 运用到商业中，

each weighing less than a slice of bread, by the way,

顺便说下，每个都比 一片面包还要轻，

and outfitted them with our localization technology

并且装备上了我们的定位技术

and custom algorithms.

和自定义算法。

Because each unit knows where it is in space

因为每个单元都知道 自己在空间中所处的位置

并能自我控制，

and is self-controlled,

there is really no limit to their number.

所以无论多少个（同时运作）都可以。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

Hopefully, these demonstrations will motivate you to dream up

希望这些展示能够启发你们想象出

new revolutionary roles for flying machines.

飞行器更多革命性的功能。

That ultrasafe one over there for example

我们以那个极其安全的飞行器为例，

has aspirations to become a flying lampshade on Broadway.

它渴望成为百老汇的一个飞行灯罩。

(Laughter)

（笑）

The reality is that it is difficult to predict

实际上我们很难预测

这些新兴技术带给我们的影响。

the impact of nascent technology.

And for folks like us, the real reward is the journey and the act of creation.

对于我们这样的人来说， 真正的回报在于创造性的旅程和行动。

它不断提醒我们，

It's a continual reminder

of how wonderful and magical the universe we live in is,

我们生活的这个宇宙是多么精彩和神奇，

that it allows creative, clever creatures

允许这些富有创造力的、聪明的生物

to sculpt it in such spectacular ways.

用这样壮观的方式塑造它。

The fact that this technology

事实上，这个技术

has such huge commercial and economic potential

巨大的商业和经济潜能不过是一种

锦上添花而已。

is just icing on the cake.

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）