The astounding athletic power of quadcopters | Raffaello D'Andrea
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN cites it for the live demo of multicopters flying with fewer working rotors.
What it is
In a TEDGlobal talk, Raffaello D'Andrea demonstrates quadcopters that play catch, balance, learn and coordinate, using algorithms that treat them like athletes. It includes Kinect-controlled quads.
Recommended by 0 HN commenters across 0 different months, 2015 to 2021.
What Hacker News said
Cites graycat · 2015-06 · on “Show HN: Differential Equations Explained”
Ordinary differential equations? Okay: Just freshman calculus actually is a good start. E.g., for viral growth consider y'(t) = k y(t) ( b - y(t) ) where t is time, y(t) the size at time t, and the rate of growth y'(t) = d/dt y(t) is proportional to both the current size y(t) and the size ( b - y(t) ) yet to be achieved. So, e.g., the growth rate is proportional to the number of present customers talking y(t) and the number of potential customers listening ( b - y(t) ). We assume that the present is time t = 0 and we have the eventual size b and the current size y(0). Then, sure, we have an initial value problem (that is, we know y(0)) for a first order, linear ordinary differential equation
Cites carlhjerpe · 2020-11 · on “Electrified wingsuit from BMW reaches 186MPH on first flight”
Absolutely, as long as they're operating within parameters there's no failing them. I've been running brushless systems in RC cars for the last 7 odd years. The only motor failures has been when It's been subject to extreme abuse, as in the rotor reaching 100+° (internally), going from ~55-60K RPM to 0 in fraction of a second or the rotor being forced through the bearings. For unmanned flight i do agree on multicopters being the best option. See this[1] video for an example of a multicopter flying with disabled props. However, as you see this flightmode isn't appropriate for human beings, humans should keep flying helis for now. The swash plate design even though more complex than a prop mou
Cites cronix · 2021-10 · on “Jetson One – Personal Electric Aerial Vehicle”
I'm kind of surprised they use only 4. There are drones with 6 and 8 rotors, which can still fly if 1 fails, which they use in the film industry to fly heavier, more expensive cameras. There are also ways to get quads to fly on less than 4 rotors if one becomes damaged, although as a human I'm not sure I'd want to be in one doing it. Here's a Ted Talk with a live demo from 2013: [this video]