Domestic researchers have developed the world's first technology that allows multiple drones to interact and perform various missions in a virtual space.

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced that it has developed 'high-precision distributed drone simulation' technology that enables safe and rapid research on various drones in a virtual space.

The technology developed by ETRI is the world's first simulator capable of testing the process of performing various missions with large-scale drones, and software that allows for easy control and monitoring of drones from the ground.

By utilizing this technology, you can make drones smarter by testing various situations that are difficult to implement in actual experimental environments.

The simulator can display an avatar drone that precisely reflects the characteristics of a real drone.

In addition, by setting up environments such as virtual drones and obstacles in the simulator, you can test situations where a real drone avoids or interacts with them even if there is nothing in reality.

Even functions requiring high performance are not includedIt made it possible to test quickly while conveying it.

Previously, complex tasks could not be assigned because only limited computing power could be utilized, but the research team overcame this limitation with a technology that enables iterative and reinforcement learning using multiple distributed computers.

ETRI conducted a demonstration to verify the technology by connecting various types of devices, such as server-class computers and laptops, and simultaneously operating 100 virtual drones.

In addition, they succeeded in precisely reproducing the physical phenomena that occur in situations where multiple virtual drones collaborate to transport heavy objects connected by ropes.

Furthermore, we have completed the verification of a technology in which a deep neural network for autonomous flight, trained through hundreds of thousands of iterations in a simulation space, is installed on an actual drone to fly to its destination while avoiding obstacles.

ETRI stated that the core technologies are drone simulation technology and its application technologies, including distributed multi-drone simulation technology, high-precision object modeling technology, drone physics engine technology, simulation reinforcement learning-based drone autonomous flight technology, multi-drone ground control technology, and synchronization technology between actual drones and avatar drones.

Lee Su-jeon, a principal researcher at ETRI’s Unmanned Vehicle Research Lab, said, “I hope this technology will help accelerate the development of multi-drone missions and services, making economies of scale—which were considered impossible in the drone industry—a reality.”