THE NEXT ERA OF DRONES WILL BE DEFINED BY ‘SWARMS’

Texto 2

THE NEXT ERA OF DRONES WILL BE DEFINED BY ‘SWARMS’

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Drones are becoming smaller, cheaper to make, can zoom around on their own, and gather in groups of hundreds, even thousands, to fly like a flock of birds. They’re called swarms – get enough of them together, and they could save your life, or they could be a deadly collaborative force on the battlefield.

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Plus there is no leader (1) or commander in a swarm; the swarm is a self-organising system in which allows drones to fly together without colliding. And only one operator (2) is needed to control the whole swarm.

Swarms are tough. One missile can bring down an aircraft, but a swarm can lose dozens of members and keep going. Air defences with a limited (3) supply (4) of missiles can be overwhelmed by enough opponents.

But drones will soon be swarming in many other situations too, from rock concerts to barnyards. In fact, you probably already have seen swarms of drones in everyday life. Chinese company eHang claimed the record for the biggest swarm, in a spectacular New Year show in which 1,000 drones formed a map of China and the Chinese character for 'blessings' (5). 

Drone swarms may even have a place on the farm. They can spot plant disease and help manage water use, or spray pesticides and herbicides only in the exact spot needed, all working cooperatively to cover the area and fill in gaps.

So, what does the future hold for swarming (6) drones? Swarming drone technology is still very much in their infancy. But it’s evolving fast. In fact, they could one day live alongside us.

Fonte: adapted from: <http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170425-were-entering-the-next-era-of-drones>.

Acesso em: 02 maio 2017.