Flying Smartphones: Automated Flight Enabled by Consumer Electronics
Giuseppe Loianno, Gareth Cross, Chao Qu, Yash Mulgaonkar, Joel A. Hesch, Vijay Kumar

Citation
Giuseppe Loianno, Gareth Cross, Chao Qu, Yash Mulgaonkar, Joel A. Hesch, Vijay Kumar. "Flying Smartphones: Automated Flight Enabled by Consumer Electronics". IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, 22(2):24-32, June 2015.

Abstract
Consumer grade technology seen in cameras and phones has led to the price/performance ratio falling dramatically over the last decade. We are seeing a similar trend in robots that leverage this technology. A recent development is the interests of companies such as Google, Apple and Qualcomm in high-end communication devices equipped with such sensors as cameras and IMUs, and with significant computational capability. Google, for instance, is developing a customized phone equipped with conventional as well as depth cameras. This work explores the potential for rapid integration of this inexpensive consumer grade electronics with the off-the-shelf robotics technology for automation in homes and offices. We describe how standard hardware platforms (robots, processors, and smart phones) can be integrated through a simple software architecture to build autonomous quadrotors that can navigate and map unknown, indoor environments. We show how the quadrotor can be stabilized and controlled to achieve autonomous flight and the generation of 3D maps for exploring and mapping indoor buildings with application to smart homes, search and rescue and architecture. This opens up, in the future, the possibility for any consumer to take a commercially available robot platform and a smart phone and automate the process of creating a 3D map of his/her home or office.

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  • HTML
    Giuseppe Loianno, Gareth Cross, Chao Qu, Yash  Mulgaonkar,
    Joel A. Hesch, Vijay Kumar. <a
    href="http://www.terraswarm.org/pubs/337.html"
    >Flying Smartphones: Automated Flight Enabled by Consumer
    Electronics</a>, <i>IEEE Robotics &
    Automation Magazine</i>, 22(2):24-32, June 2015.
  • Plain text
    Giuseppe Loianno, Gareth Cross, Chao Qu, Yash  Mulgaonkar,
    Joel A. Hesch, Vijay Kumar. "Flying Smartphones:
    Automated Flight Enabled by Consumer Electronics".
    <i>IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine</i>,
    22(2):24-32, June 2015.
  • BibTeX
    @article{LoiannoCrossQuMulgaonkarHeschKumar15_FlyingSmartphonesAutomatedFlightEnabledByConsumerElectronics,
        author = {Giuseppe Loianno and Gareth Cross and Chao Qu and
                  Yash  Mulgaonkar and Joel A. Hesch and Vijay Kumar},
        title = {Flying Smartphones: Automated Flight Enabled by
                  Consumer Electronics},
        journal = {IEEE Robotics \& Automation Magazine},
        volume = {22},
        number = {2},
        pages = {24-32},
        month = {June},
        year = {2015},
        abstract = {Consumer grade technology seen in cameras and
                  phones has led to the price/performance ratio
                  falling dramatically over the last decade. We are
                  seeing a similar trend in robots that leverage
                  this technology. A recent development is the
                  interests of companies such as Google, Apple and
                  Qualcomm in high-end communication devices
                  equipped with such sensors as cameras and IMUs,
                  and with significant computational capability.
                  Google, for instance, is developing a customized
                  phone equipped with conventional as well as depth
                  cameras. This work explores the potential for
                  rapid integration of this inexpensive consumer
                  grade electronics with the off-the-shelf robotics
                  technology for automation in homes and offices. We
                  describe how standard hardware platforms (robots,
                  processors, and smart phones) can be integrated
                  through a simple software architecture to build
                  autonomous quadrotors that can navigate and map
                  unknown, indoor environments. We show how the
                  quadrotor can be stabilized and controlled to
                  achieve autonomous flight and the generation of 3D
                  maps for exploring and mapping indoor buildings
                  with application to smart homes, search and rescue
                  and architecture. This opens up, in the future,
                  the possibility for any consumer to take a
                  commercially available robot platform and a smart
                  phone and automate the process of creating a 3D
                  map of his/her home or office. },
        URL = {http://terraswarm.org/pubs/337.html}
    }
    

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