A research project, led by Penn State engineers to create a sort of digital brain inspired by the processes insects and small animals use to make smart decisions with limited information, has been awarded $12 million by the U.S. Army through the Army’s Research Laboratory.
Saptarshi Das, Ackley Professor of Engineering Science, professor of engineering science and mechanics and principal investigator on the project, explained how many powerful computing systems today require supercomputing clusters, data centers or a large amount of external power to function. Edge devices, or computer systems disconnected from a larger cloud service or power structure, can struggle to make smart, artificial intelligence (AI) informed decisions. If successful, the system could help AI-powered drones and ground robots make smarter decisions, particularly in remote or covert locations where information is limited, he said.
“Drones may be operating in a remote area where you don’t have connection, or you may not even want to communicate with a cloud in an effort to conceal your location,” said Das, who holds additional affiliations in electrical engineering and the Materials Research Institute. “Our proposed system seeks to grant edge devices the onboard power necessary to make smart decisions in complex environments, without requiring bulky components or a surplus of energy.”
The project proposes an intelligent sensing node that will eliminate the need to convert physical data collected by a drone’s onboard cameras and sensors into digital information.
