Robotic blimp drone to explore Giza Pyramid hidden chamber
- 6 years ago
PARIS — Researchers are developing a blimp-like drone that can explore a newly discovered hidden chamber in the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Research institutions Inria and the French National Center for Scientific Research are designing the drone to squeeze through a 1.5-inch hole, before unfolding and inflating, Digital Trends reported.
"The main challenge is to insert a complete exploration robot in a hole that is as small as possible," Inria researcher Dr. Jean-Baptiste Mouret told Digital Trends. "It's important to use a hole as small as possible because we want to leave as few traces as we can. This is what we call 'minimally invasive robotics.' We chose a diameter of 1.5 inches because it is a good trade-off between the size of the hole, the kind of machines that can bore holes, and the current robotic technologies."
The blimp model was chosen over conventional multi-rotor drones because it's safer the surrounding environment during exploration.
The blimp drone can make contact with obstacles without damaging the monument. They are also more stable than multi-rotor drones, which is important for taking photos in low-light conditions.
The camera equipped drone will be remotely operated by radio, however can also operate autonomously via small onboard sensors.
Research institutions Inria and the French National Center for Scientific Research are designing the drone to squeeze through a 1.5-inch hole, before unfolding and inflating, Digital Trends reported.
"The main challenge is to insert a complete exploration robot in a hole that is as small as possible," Inria researcher Dr. Jean-Baptiste Mouret told Digital Trends. "It's important to use a hole as small as possible because we want to leave as few traces as we can. This is what we call 'minimally invasive robotics.' We chose a diameter of 1.5 inches because it is a good trade-off between the size of the hole, the kind of machines that can bore holes, and the current robotic technologies."
The blimp model was chosen over conventional multi-rotor drones because it's safer the surrounding environment during exploration.
The blimp drone can make contact with obstacles without damaging the monument. They are also more stable than multi-rotor drones, which is important for taking photos in low-light conditions.
The camera equipped drone will be remotely operated by radio, however can also operate autonomously via small onboard sensors.