'Autonomous' helicopters that teach themselves to fly

Despite the civilian uses it seems that more and more the military implications are being drawn from 'autonomous' vehicles (ie. unmanned - very useful). Here's some latest developments:

Stanford computer scientists have developed an AI system that enables robotic helicopters to teach themselves to fly difficult stunts by watching other helicopters perform the same maneuvers.

The result is an autonomous helicopter than can perform a complete airshow of complex tricks on its own. There is interest in using autonomous helicopters to search for land mines in war-torn areas or to map out the hot spots of California wildfires in real time, allowing firefighters to quickly move toward or away from them.

Read more at - 'Stanford's 'autonomous' helicopters teach themselves to fly'

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