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Tag: DroneHub

  • Drone research in the modular innovation building

    Drone research in the modular innovation building

    The new DroneHub in NEST, the modular research and innovation building of Empa and the ETH Domain’s aquatic research institute(Eawag), has been officially opened. According to a press release, it offers a “unique environment” in which researchers can test and further develop innovative drones and robot technologies.

    The DroneHub took shape in collaboration with Imperial College London. It is headed by Mirko Kovac, head of Empa’s Sustainability Robotics research laboratory and the two Imperial College facilities, Aerial Robotics Lab and Imperial Centre for Infrastructure Robotics Ecosystems. In future, the DroneHub will support Kovac’s new joint professorship in Sustainability Robotics at Empa and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne.

    Three zones have been set up at NEST: Drones can carry out repair work on an exterior wall in flight and under real weather conditions using 3D printing. The biosphere, located in a kind of aviary and therefore also outdoors, enables robots to interact independently with nature, collect valuable environmental data with their sensors and test new biodegradable materials at the same time.

    And finally, the modular facade of the DroneHub shows how robots can be integrated into buildings and act as their immune system, especially to ward off danger. “If we investigate what symbiotic integration can really look like,” says Kovac in an Empa video about the DroneHub, “then life with drones and robots will also show how they can be integrated into our lives and how society can change.”

  • 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.

  • 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.