The invention and deployment of small flying robots (drones)
is beginning to influence our everyday lives. Their applications are
frightening to some and exciting to others. From military surveillance, to city
courier services, to near-future flying camera phones, this technology is bound
to end up on everyone's doorstep. Setting privacy issues aside, the biggest
challenge in successfully integrating the versatile use of drones in our
society is to make them safe and reliable. Whereas we have succeeded in doing
so with large passenger aircraft, it has proven remarkably difficult to adapt
this technology on a smaller scale to flight in urban environments. From windy
street canyons to highly cluttered alleys and parks, keeping drones in the air
is actually a more difficult task than first imagined, as any hobby drone pilot
can confirm. Making these flights more useful and versatile is yet another
challenge. How can we adapt and innovate our technology to succeed?