Making a more accessible and diverse robotics field
Summary
Vicon provided Ewing and his team with ultra-wideband instruments and ‘lighthouse stations,’ capable of triangulation in combination with the high-accuracy sensors onboard the drones. Whilst the motion capture technology has been fantastic in advancing drone swarm controls and coordination, a significant additional benefit also emerged – accessibility to robotics. “It makes all sorts of activities very simple and straightforward, which is great for getting more people involved in robotics and computer science,” Ewing enthused. Owing to the improved accessibility and outreach of this new approach, Ewing has been able to experiment with different crossover groups that would otherwise never be exposed to the world of STEM. It was only recently that Ewing and his team welcomed young children into their lab for an activity day where they got hands-on experience with drones and robots in a safe environment.