I-Corps: Autonomous Indoor Blimps as Data Terminal for Internet of Things

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是为室内环境提供有效的航空传感解决方案。持续的环境监测、基础设施检查和安全监控对于大型室内设施提供安全和舒适至关重要。现有的航空传感解决方案主要用于户外应用。由于飞行时间短、噪音水平高和安全问题，它们不适合人类居住的室内环境。这项技术是基于专门设计的机器人飞艇，提供长时间的飞行，安静的声音轮廓，碰撞安全。该技术可以潜在地填补室内航空传感的市场空缺。除了室内空中传感，机器人飞艇还可以作为研究和教学工具销售给研究人员，教师，学生和有兴趣在人类友好的飞行机器人上进行室内实验的爱好者。机器人飞艇还可以扩展为老年人的伴侣机器人，或作为儿童的智能玩具。这个I-Corps项目探索了围绕机器人飞艇开发的航空传感解决方案的商业潜力。这艘飞艇装有充氦的气囊，可以在人群中安全飞行。氦气的浮力有助于降低飞艇的功耗，使其能够安静地运行数小时。飞艇独特的空气动力学形状确保了在室内环境中的高机动性。飞艇代表了机电一体化设计、移动的传感器网络和控制系统研究成果的集成。飞艇已成功用于支持NSF赠款的广泛研究，包括室内风场测绘，群集控制和人机交互。飞艇的基本功能稳定可靠，准备过渡到商业化阶段。通过这个I-Corps项目，该团队将更好地了解市场规模、客户需求和发明的商业化可行性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to provide effective aerial sensing solution for indoor environments. Persistent environmental monitoring, infrastructure inspection, and security surveillance are essential for large indoor facilities to provide safety and comfort. Existing aerial sensing solutions are mainly for outdoor applications. They are not suitable for human-occupied indoor environments due to short flight duration, disturbing noise level, and safety concerns. The proposed technology is based on specially designed robotic blimps that offer long flight duration, quiet sound profile, and safety for collision. The technology can potentially fill the market vacancy for indoor aerial sensing. In addition to indoor aerial sensing, the robotic blimps can also be marketed as a research and teaching tool for researchers, teachers, students, and hobbyists who are interested in performing indoor experiments on human friendly flying robots. The robotic blimps may also be extended to serve as companion robots for the elderly, or as intelligent toys for children. This I-Corps project explores the commercial potential of an aerial sensing solution that is developed around a robotic blimp. The blimp is cushioned with Helium-filled envelope, and can fly safely among people. Buoyancy from the Helium gas helps reduce the power consumption of the blimp, enabling it to operate quietly for hours. Unique aerodynamic shape of the blimp ensures high maneuverability in indoor environments. The blimp represents an integration of research efforts in mechatronic design, mobile sensor networks, and control systems. The blimps have been successfully employed to support a broad spectrum of research supported by NSF grants, including indoor wind field mapping, swarming control, and human-robot interactions. The basic functionalities of the blimp are stable and reliable, ready to be transitioned into the commercialization stage. Through this I-Corps program, the team will develop better understanding of market scale, customer needs, and commercialization feasibility of the invention.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.