New drone technology paves the way for faster and safer autonomous flight

By William Milne

Research from Durham University’s Computer Science Department have created a new drone navigation system, called CORTO-Planner, which enables autonomous aircraft to fly faster and more safely in areas densely filled with objects.

Current systems make drones slow down when travelling through congested spaces in order to avoid collisions with obstacles. Durham’s research team has developed a new type of flexible safety corridor which allows drones to adapt more easily to difficult environments, leading to flight paths with up to six times more usable space.

The system means that drones will be able to travel at higher speeds even in challenging environments. 

In addition, the researchers developed a faster way of calculating the drone’s route, enabling the drone to decide on its path in real time whilst flying, cutting out the need for slow mathematical processes.

During tests, CORTO-Planner was proven to reach higher speeds than other leading systems while ensuring no collisions with barriers.

It is believed that the new system will be helpful for search and rescue missions, forest exploration, industrial inspection and warehouse automation.

The system has also been made available to other researchers, in the hope that they can build on the work.

Image: James Tillotson