WEBVTT - Now This is Drone Racing

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<v Speaker 1>Drone racing is a thrilling competition that pits talented pilots

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<v Speaker 1>against each other in a contest of skill and daring,

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<v Speaker 1>and now robots are getting in on the action. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>Jonathan Strickland and this is text Up Daily. NASA's Jet

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<v Speaker 1>Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California has lots of stuff going on.

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<v Speaker 1>Among the many projects that the numerous actual real life

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<v Speaker 1>rockets scientists have initiated is one that teaches an artificial

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<v Speaker 1>intelligence how to pilot a small drone through a complex

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<v Speaker 1>obstacle race course, which frankly sounds like the coolest job ever.

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<v Speaker 1>The research team working on the project received funding from

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<v Speaker 1>Google and took two years to create the software that

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<v Speaker 1>could learn a course and send the appropriate commands to

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<v Speaker 1>a drone to make its way through without crashing or

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<v Speaker 1>missing a turn. The team built three drones called Batman, Nightwing,

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<v Speaker 1>and Joker. The drones have a top speed of eighty

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<v Speaker 1>miles per hour or a d kilometers per hour if

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<v Speaker 1>they have enough space to get up to top speed

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<v Speaker 1>within the confines of the race course, that top speed

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<v Speaker 1>is closer to forty miles per hour or sixty four

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<v Speaker 1>kilometers per hour. As a test of their work, the

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<v Speaker 1>research team invited a professional drone racing pilot, and yes,

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<v Speaker 1>in case you weren't aware, that's a thing that really exists.

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<v Speaker 1>This pilot was Ken Lu, a k A Flying Bear

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<v Speaker 1>on the drone racing circuit, who averaged a blistering pace

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<v Speaker 1>of eleven point one seconds per lap on the course.

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<v Speaker 1>The AI piloted drone was just a touch slower, with

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<v Speaker 1>an average time of thirteen point nine seconds. So for now,

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<v Speaker 1>a top performing human can still outpace an AI piloted drone,

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<v Speaker 1>But Lou himself was impressed by the performance. Lu said

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<v Speaker 1>to reporters that quote one of my faults as a

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<v Speaker 1>pilot is I get tired easily. When I it mentally fatigued,

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<v Speaker 1>I start to get lost, even if I've flown the

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<v Speaker 1>course ten times end quote. That's an advantage AI has

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<v Speaker 1>over humans. It doesn't get sleepy or distracted. It can

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<v Speaker 1>continue to operate as long as it has the computational

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<v Speaker 1>power necessary to execute commands. The AI s path was

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<v Speaker 1>also more consistent than LOSE technique for navigating the course.

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<v Speaker 1>While LOSE drone might vary in its flight path with

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<v Speaker 1>each lap, the AI piloted drone continued to follow the

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<v Speaker 1>same line time after time. The technology has the potential

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<v Speaker 1>to benefit multiple industries. Space exploration is definitely high on

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<v Speaker 1>that list. The vast distances involved in space exploration make

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<v Speaker 1>it impossible to rely upon a human operator controlling a

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<v Speaker 1>remote vehicle. There's too much delay between when a person

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<v Speaker 1>would send a command and when that command would reach

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<v Speaker 1>the robot. When the Curiosity rover made a soft landing

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<v Speaker 1>on Mars, it did so autonomously because there was a

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<v Speaker 1>communication delay of several minutes due to the distance between

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<v Speaker 1>Earth and Mars. The rover was actually on Mars for

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<v Speaker 1>about ten minutes before scientists on Earth could confirm touchdown.

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<v Speaker 1>Autonomous systems are critical for situations in which a vehicle

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<v Speaker 1>must navigate far from human control back here on Earth.

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<v Speaker 1>A versatile navigation and mapping system could help a drone

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<v Speaker 1>become part of an automated operations and everything from search

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<v Speaker 1>and rescue missions to something as simple as checking on

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<v Speaker 1>inventory inside a massive warehouse. There are numerous potential benefits

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<v Speaker 1>to AI controlled drones. As for drone racing, that's a

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<v Speaker 1>sport that's literally taking off. Numerous hobby organizations host drone

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<v Speaker 1>racing competitions, and some pilots compete to set the best

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<v Speaker 1>course time, navigating through specific obstacles and flying drones through

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<v Speaker 1>gateways or around pylons and others. Multiple pilots might compete simultaneously,

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<v Speaker 1>racing against each other to get to the finish line first.

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<v Speaker 1>Pilots might even don a head mounted display to view

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<v Speaker 1>a live video feed footage from a camera on the

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<v Speaker 1>drone to fly the course from a first person first effective.

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<v Speaker 1>The big name in drone racing is d r one Racing,

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<v Speaker 1>but there are many others. Perhaps in the future will

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<v Speaker 1>see some artificially intelligent competitors enter the field. It's not

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<v Speaker 1>difficult to imagine a scenario in which machines are able

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<v Speaker 1>to outperform even the best human pilots. In some ways,

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<v Speaker 1>that's a sad realization, but we should also remember that

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<v Speaker 1>humans were the ones able to create the machines in

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<v Speaker 1>the first place, and that they have the potential to

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<v Speaker 1>do some phenomenal things beyond going really fast through an

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<v Speaker 1>obstacle course. That's all for today. To learn more about drones,

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<v Speaker 1>artificial intelligence, and NASA, subscribe to the Tech Stuff podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>I cover topics like this and other important concepts. In

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<v Speaker 1>tech and in much greater detail. New episodes published on

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<v Speaker 1>Wednesdays and Fridays. I'll see you again soon.