immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Drohnen

  • DroneHub in NEST

    DroneHub in NEST

    The “DroneHub” at Empa’s NEST provides a platform for the development of pioneering technologies that revolutionise the interaction of drones and robots with the natural and built environment. The focus is on drones that can perform autonomous tasks such as inspections, repairs and data collection. The aim is to reduce environmental pollution and promote climate protection.

    Research at the cutting edge
    The “DroneHub” has three central test environments that simulate real-life conditions. Additive manufacturing from the air enables drones to carry out infrastructure repairs in a vertical area with 3D printing from the air, defying wind and weather. In the biosphere, researchers are testing robots that move around in nature, collect data and use biodegradable materials that decompose after use. In building façades, a modular façade serves as a testing ground to explore how drones can be integrated into buildings to ensure maintenance and safety.

    Autonomous systems as an environmental immune system
    “Our vision is to establish drones as a kind of immune system for the environment,” explains Mirko Kovac, head of the project. These robots are designed to perform precise tasks, such as repairing buildings or monitoring ecosystems, while minimising both costs and risks.

    Collaboration for sustainable solutions
    The development of the “DroneHub” was initiated by Empa in collaboration with Imperial College London. This collaboration enables the exchange of knowledge and technologies to effectively tackle global environmental challenges.

    Sustainable technologies for global goals
    The “DroneHub” plays a key role in the development of autonomous, sustainable technologies that can contribute to global climate goals. Practical tests and interdisciplinary approaches create an interface between technology, the environment and everyday life.

  • Drone aviary at NEST: new test environment for sustainable robotics

    Drone aviary at NEST: new test environment for sustainable robotics

    Empa and EPFL are to work together in the future on the development of robotics for sustainability purposes, according to a press release. Empa will contribute its expertise in the areas of materials and development as well as its drone aviary, which will be opened in the modular research building NEST in Dübendorf in November. EPFL is contributing its expertise in environmental monitoring. In future, researchers and students from both institutions will also be able to work at the other institution, depending on the topic.

    Empa researcher Mirko Kovacs has also been teaching as Professor of Sustainability Robotics since the beginning of September. Kovacs has headed the Laboratory of Sustainability Robotics, which Empa runs jointly with Imperial College London, since 2018. His two teams in Dübendorf and London are now being joined by a third in Lausanne.

    The drone aviary at NEST allows test runs with robots and drones in the open air, but shielded from the outside world by a cage. One wall of the aviary will allow surface materials to be changed and different scenarios to be tested.

  • Empa develops heat-resistant drone for fire brigade

    Empa develops heat-resistant drone for fire brigade

    The FireDrone from Empa and the Aerial Robotics Laboratory of Imperial College in London has passed its baptism of fire: Initial tests with the flying robot, which is intended to support fire brigades in their operations, were positive, according to a media release from Empa. In Empa’s flight arena in Dübendorf, they showed that the flight characteristics and controllability of the special drone, which is around 50 centimetres tall, were “excellent” despite its special equipment. The autonomous aircraft was equipped with a new type of insulation jacket, an additional built-in cooling system and aluminium cladding.

    The design, which the researchers have just published in the scientific journal “Advanced Intelligent Systems”, was convincing in this dry run. However, in order for the drone to provide the emergency services with initial information about the source of the danger, it must also be able to withstand high heat. “The extreme heat generated by a fire is too great for conventional drones to fly closer,” David Häusermann from Empa’s Sustainability Robotics laboratory is quoted as saying.

    The Empa laboratory Building Energy Materials and Components was able to synthesise the insulating material with which this was also possible. It is an ultra-light aerogel made of polyimide and silica. It was also reinforced with glass fibres. The electronics, thermal imaging camera and CO2 sensors of the FireDrone prototype survived several test flights undamaged during tests with a gas fire on the training grounds of the Andelfingen training centre. Now they are also to be tested under heavy soot development.

    “If a drone makes the first reconnaissance of the situation, we don’t have to send the firefighters into the danger zone immediately,” Stefan Keller, training coordinator for the fire brigade of the building insurance of the canton of Zurich, is quoted as saying. “For us, this progress is enormously interesting.”

  • NEST receives aviary for drone research

    NEST receives aviary for drone research

    A DroneHub is being set up on the NEST. As the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research(Empa) illustrates in a short video, it resembles an aviary. On a floor space of 90 square metres, a construction of metal tubes and mesh forms a cage with a height of up to eleven metres. According to an Empa release, the final construction will provide test environments for three research fields.

    For the first, 3D printing in flight, an experimental wall with interchangeable modules will be used to develop drones that fly and carry out inspection and repair work vertically. “The drones can, for example, detect and repair cracks without the need for elaborate scaffolding or endangering the safety of people,” explains Mirko Kovac, the head of Empa’s Sustainability Robotics research laboratory and director of the Aerial Robotics Lab at Imperial College London.

    The second application area, robotic environmental sensing, focuses on the interaction between drones and the environment. “You can place targeted sensors in nature and read the data with regular flights,” says Kovac. This is “very relevant” especially for energy plants such as wind turbines or dams, but also for collecting climate data in impassable and wide-open spaces.

    The third research area wants to develop rules and technological standards for the coexistence of robots and humans, for example for interfaces between buildings and flying robots. This concerns, for example, landing sites on or near buildings or the positioning of charging stations.

  • Far superior to drones

    Far superior to drones

    New construction projects can be digitally modeled using drone recordings. With the help of software, the planned object is, so to speak, “inserted” into the property and surroundings images received by the drone. This Building Information Modeling (BIM) creates realistic visualizations of a new building project in two or three-dimensional views. Object-strategic statements can thus be made reliably, quickly and cheaply.

    Drones are also used for construction-related work themselves. One of the most recent applications is the computer-controlled use of drones for painting facades. The flying robotic helpers can be controlled very precisely and can fly very close to a wall. So it is possible to paint facades without work preparation and erection of scaffolding. In addition to saving time, this is also a step forward in terms of safety on the construction site.

    Another area of application is that for inspections and damage tests of buildings and structures – for example the use of drones for roof inspections. Due to the high altitudes and good stabilization in flight, drones can also be used in historic buildings, such as churches. But drones can also be used comfortably and safely to check building cracks, glass damage or hard-to-reach areas. Thanks to the high resolution of the images, even the finest damage can be detected and these images can be saved for later documentation purposes.

    You can find impulses around innovations in the real estate and construction industry here: https://hubs.li/H0RQl480