US EditionAI beats champion human pilots in head-to-head drone races
- A team of researchers from the University of Zurich has developed an AI algorithm called Swift that defeated three world champion drone racers in head-to-head races. The algorithm, using deep reinforcement learning, learned to fly a drone around a 3D race course at high speeds without crashing too often. This marks the first time that AI has beaten a human champion in a physical sport.
- Swift's technique enabled it to consistently start races faster and execute tighter turns than the human pilots. However, it lost 40% of the races against humans and was sensitive to changes in the environment, such as lighting. Despite the mixed feelings of the world champions, Swift's ability to cope with real-world challenges like aerodynamic turbulence and camera blur could have wider applications, such as drone search and rescue missions.
- While the military has an interest in AI-powered drones, experts believe that the implications of Swift's victories in drone racing for warfare are uncertain. The advancements made in this research may have limited impact on military drones' critical processes like target selection, as they are mostly used in wide-open battlefields against stationary or slow-moving targets.
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Challenge accepted: High-speed AI drone overtakes world-champion drone racers
In a milestone for artificial intelligence (AI), the AI system 'Swift' has beaten the world champions in drone racing -- a result that seemed unattainable just a few years ago. The AI-piloted drone was trained in a simulated environment. Real-world applications include environmental monitoring or disaster response.
Challenge accepted: High-speed AI drone overtakes world-champion drone racers
The AI-trained autonomous drone (in blue) managed the quickest lap general, half a second forward of the very best time of a human pilot. (Picture: UZH / Leonard Bauersfeld). Credit: UZH / Leonard Bauersfeld Keep in mind when IBM’s Deep Blue gained towards Gary Kasparov at chess in 1996, or Google’s AlphaGo crushed the highest champion Lee Sedol at Go, a way more complicated sport, in 2016? These competitions the place machines prevailed over…
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