Boeing and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Laboratory (APL) have demonstrated the ability of autonomous
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to fly in a swarm. Without using
a ground control station, operators communicated with the UAVs,
got information from them, and gave them tasks to perform.
Recently conducted tests in Oregon used two ScanEagle UAVs that
completed tasks faster and more efficiently by communicating and
cooperating with each other. The operator, who had limited
flight training, commanded both UAVs with a military radio and a
laptop. The UAVs were developed by Insitu (a Boeing subsidiary)
and used swarm technology developed by the APL. Swarming flying
robots and UAVs are a popular topic these days (on this site and
elsewhere). Boeing is developing UAV swarm technology as part of
its mission to deliver a continuous, coordinated flow of
information (including data collection, aggregation, and
analysis) that gives soldiers situational awareness. Last year,
Boeing and the APL conducted t