Can’t Go Outside? Send A Drone!

Sadly The Dodgeball Function Isn’t Yet Available

The researchers behind the event cameras which let their drones dodge balls (and possibly wrenches or birds of prey) are a little bit late for this to be a great way of entertaining yourself but it will one day be a wonderful feature for entertainment and security.  In order to allow  drone to react quickly to incoming objects the researchers at the University of Zurich realized that a normal camera is not an efficient solution. 

An event camera only sends data from pixels that detect a change in light intensity for processing as opposed to a traditional camera which sends the entire frame for analysis.  They combined the new camera with a new processing algorithm which let them cut the reaction time from what is usually between 20-40 milliseconds down to just two or three milliseconds.  This gives the drone the reflexes to be able to automatically dodge incoming objects; at least in theory.

You won’t be able to play drone dodgeball yet, but if you have one handy it might be a great tool to be able to feel like you are able to get out and visit the neighbourhood while still maintaining physical distancing.