Flock Dynamics

Following news appeared recently :

Robotic Drones can herd birds away from airspaces 

https://www.kaist.ac.kr/_prog/_board/?  

mode=V&no=84601&code=ed_news&site_dvs_cd=en&menu_dvs_cd=060101  

http://www.caltech.edu/news/engineers-taught-drone-herd-birds-away-airports-82933

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Shim  

http://eas.caltech.edu/people/sjchung  

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/a.paranjape



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Now, researchers have equipped drones with an algorithm that lets them herd away flocks of birds without human input.

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Highlights :

Scientists have developed an algorithm that enables a flying drone to herd a flock of birds away from a designated air-space , without breaking their formation

The team developed the herding algorithm on the basis of macroscopic properties of the flocking model and the response of the flock

“We made careful observations of flock dynamics and interactions between flocks and the pursuer.

This allowed us to create a new herding algorithm for ideal flight paths for incoming drones to move the flock away from a protected airspace,” said Shim.

“This algorithm will help improve safety for the aviation industry. In addition, this will also help control avian influenza that plagues farms nationwide every year,” said Shim.



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Question :

If this algorithm works so well on birds , can it work even better on humans, considering that humans have, not only far advanced brains but also because all humans carry an internet-connected mobile phone in pocket or wear some IoT connected device ( even clothes ), which before long , will become a “ Brain Computer Interface “ ?



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Answer :

It is not a question of “ If “ but a question of “ When “  [ Privacy advocates , make a note ]

You will have to be naïve , if you think that this “ Herd Algorithm “ will not spawn following applications :



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DRONES  HERDING  OTHER NON-HUMAN SPECIES

This could comprise herding of :

*   Locusts / Insects / Hornets / Wasps / Mosquitos etc chased / led by a drone , to self-

     destruct by flying into electrified fences

*   Rats to follow a drone to drown in rivers / ponds ( Pied Piper of Hamlin ? )

*   Sharks made to stay away from beaches where humans swim

*   Schools of fishes lured to swim into the fishing nets of trawlers

*   Migrating herds of animals to reach water-holes , following a low flying drone

     List goes on



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DRONES HERDING HUMANS

·                   *        Drones ensuring human pedestrian traffic in sharply defined “ lanes “

Very useful when millions of pilgrims gather at religious places such as HAJ / KUMBH Mela / Ganapati Visarjan / Dahi Handi etc or at Sports Events

·         Drones ensuring people walking on Railway Stations / Rail Over Bridges

·         Diverting riot-prone violent crowds / processions, away from a specific place

      [ eg : 50,000 farmers marching to Mumbai , being diverted to Pune / Kolhapur ! ]

·         Drones diverting voters from Congress rally in Dadar to BJP rally in Kurla !

·         Diverting from Italy to Spain, boat-loads of migrants crossing Mediterranean Sea




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DRONES  HERDING  MACHINES  

·         If drones can direct / regulate “ bird traffic “ in the sky, there is no reason to think that they cannot direct ground-based traffic of vehicles

Drones are already being employed to catch the drivers whose cars over-speed on Mumbai-Pune Expressway .

It is only a matter of 2 / 3 years before all vehicles are pre-installed with numerous sensors , which enable these vehicles to remain constantly “ connected “ with :

#   Other vehicles on the road

#   Vehicle Manufacturers / Insurance Companies

#   Control Rooms of Traffic Police/NDRF/Urban Transport Authority etc

In this scenario, low flying drones above the roads / highways , will play the role of

VEHICLE  TRAFFIC  CONTROL  NODES

In turn , these NODES will stay connected with our NaVIC satellite system

For details , read :

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/06/navic-navigator.html  

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/04/isro-navic-india-transportrevolution.html  

I have no doubt readers will think up of many other situations for application of “ Herd Algorithm “

And do not worry about, millions of drones flying all over the skies and in all directions ,crashing into one another !

That problem will get solved as soon as those researchers get to read :

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/11/a-swarm-o-drone-is-born.html


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05  Sept  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Drone – a – Charya

Economic Times write about the INDIA DRONE POLICY , at :

With new government policy, a big opportunity awaits Indian drone industry 

Highlights :

Drones must only be flown during daylight and maintain full visual line of sight at all times

Drones must not drop / discharge material without explicit clearance . Drones must not be operated from mobile platforms like moving vehicles

 

Digital Sky is built around the principle of  ‘No Permission-No Takeoff.’  Only if a drone is compliant with this principle, can it even be registered.

Digital Sky will be in charge of handling flight permissions

 

A preflight permission request will contain the geo-fence and timespan outside of which a drone cannot fly. The drone will not turn on if it does not have a valid permission from Digital Sky 

[  Source :  https://can-i-fly.skylarkdrones.com/#/  ]

In probably a global first, India’s drone policy has introduced a ‘ No Permission- No Takeoff ’ (NPNT) clause.

It means drone hardware have to be configured in such a way that unless regulatory permission is given, the drone cannot take off.

Digital Sky has demarcated the Indian airspace into three distinct categories: Red (no-fly zones), Yellow (restricted permissions), and Green (all access). 

MY  TAKE  :

I urge ,

·         Shri Jayant Sinhaji - Min for Civil Aviation  [ Jayant.sinha19@sansad.nic.in ]

·         Shri B S Bhullarji  - DGCA  [ dgoffice@dgca.nic.in  ]

·         proposed Drone Regulator

  

·         Drone Federation of India [ info@dronefederation.in  / http://dronefederation.in/ ]

to invite comments from all the stakeholders on my following suggestions by publishing on their respective web sites :

#  Just like today car manufacturers stamp , CAR ENGINE NUMBER and CAR CHASIS

    NUMBER , each drone ( coming out from the manufacturer’s factory ) , will have a

    UNIQUE , “ Drone Number “ ( which , manufacturer would obtain online from the

    web site of the Drone Regulator by registering each “ Model “being shipped out )

#  Each drone would be embedded with GPS and Internet Connection ( Internet of

    Things ) and will confirm to the ( planned ) protocol of the ( proposed ) National

    Trusts Centre for “ Machine-to-Machine “ communication / certification , in respect

    of  “ Security by Design “

             [ Source : Telecom Commission to set up apex body for M2M devices/applications ]

 

   This will ensure that no drone can take to sky unless the owner logs into the web

   site of the Drone Regulator ( using a Mobile App ), and files its FLIGHT PLAN /

   LOCATION / DURATION / HEIGHT / DRONE CATEGORY / PURPOSE etc and the

   Regulator Web site grants clearance for take off

#   Web site of the Drone Regulator will continuously track / monitor the flight of

     each and every drone ( all over India ) on a monitor screen ( similar to tracking

     of Airplanes in an Air Traffic Control ( ATC ) room . Constant contact is the key !

     Call this :  Drone – A – Charya  [  Drone Traffic Controller - DTC  ]

     Controllers ( sitting in DTC ) will have facility to immediately “ Ground /

     Immobilize “ any drone at any time , if security is about to be compromised or if

    any drone is flying outside of its “ Geo Fence “

Context :

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/03/internet-of-vehicles-iov.html  

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/02/to-curb-speeding-immobilize-those-cars.html  

#   One real serious concern is with regard to thousands of drones flying all over the

     sky of a metropolis and colliding with one another 

 

     I urge the ( proposed ) National Trust Centre , to develop a software and make it

     mandatory for all drone manufacturers to pre-install this software into the drones

    , before shipping out . This is described at :

     https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/11/a-swarm-o-drone-is-born.html 

    https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/robotic-drones-can-herd- birds-away-from-airspaces-5336350/

    This condition will require all drone manufacturers ( local and foreign ) , to give an

    appropriate “ Undertaking “ to the Drone Regulator . 

Failure to give such an

    undertaking will ensure that such drones are grounded / confiscated !

   

   Permission will not be granted to manufacturers of drones meant for war-like

   activities ( dropping of bombs etc )

#   Frequent violation of the Flight Rules , should lead to “ Black-listing “ of any

     particular drone and it should be “ immobilized “ ( for varying periods , depending

     upon the frequency / severity of violation )

     Context :

   https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2016/08/horn-ok.html

   

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/12/this-will-take-ages.html 

  

   After all , many elements of “ Traffic Control “ on the roads , are also relevant to

   traffic control in the Sky ( especially when , say , 10 milion drones are flying )

#   Drone Regulator should announce clear rules in respect of :

·         Insurance [ crashing / hurting / damaging ]

·         Scraping / re-selling / transfer / gifting of drones

·         Registration by new buyer

          #   Registration Form ( filled online through mobile app ) should require following

               data :

·         Buyer category ( Individual / Commercial Company / Organizations etc )

·         Aadhar No / PAN No / Mobile No

          #   Since most drones would be deployed by E Commerce companies for delivering of

               goods, govt may consider  “ pre-installing “ ( in the mobile app ), an ADDRESS

               MAP , based on the technology developed by www.What3Words.com , which will

               enable better traffic control based on TRAFFIC  DENSITY on different locations ,

              apart from ensuring precise delivery to 3 meter x 3 meter squares of India’s land

         #   There will be many applications in which drone-mounted SENSORS ( including

              cameras / mikes etc ) will be collecting / compiling , “ Personal / Private “ data of

              persons or things ( eg : Photos / Videos / Images etc )

             Strict law must be enacted that the owners of the drones cannot sell / share /

            transfer such data to any third party other than a party which has “ contracted “ for

            such data collection / compilation

            A very important “ Security Feature “ must ensure that the device ( drone ) by itself

           on its own , does not transmit any data to the drone manufacturer nor to any

           owner / licensee of an Operating System ( eg : Google’s Android / Apple’s iOS etc )

           All Mobile Apps which interact with a drone hardware or its embedded software (

           including Drone Operating System ), will need to be approved by Drone regulator

            All such “ Data Collection Contracts “ would require prior registration with the Drone

           Regulator , providing full details of the contract ( especially the nature of the data )

          #  Drone Policy must take into account that within the next 5 years , there will be in

             our skies , “ Person Carrying Vehicles “ which may fall short of being classified as “

             Aircraft “ . Such vehicles must be classified as “ Drones “ and be subject to Drone

            Policy  ( eg : Uber Lite aerial taxies )

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 03  Sept  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs