ZURICH: An AI-powered drone known as Swift has made history by surpassing the world’s top human pilots in the high-speed world of drone racing.
Developed by researchers at the University of Zurich, Swift achieved a remarkable feat by emerging victorious in 15 out of 25 races. These races push drones to reach speeds of up to 50 mph (80 km/h) while subjecting them to mind-bending accelerations of up to 5g—an intensity that could lead to blackouts in most individuals.
Elia Kaufmann, a prominent figure in Swift’s development, expressed his excitement, stating, “Our result marks the first time that an AI-driven robot has beaten a human champion in a sport designed by and for humans.”
Drone racing, as seen from the pilot’s perspective, involves skillfully maneuvering a drone through gates on a designated track while avoiding potential collisions. Pilots heavily rely on live video feeds from cameras mounted on their drones to execute their maneuvers. In an electrifying competition, Swift, an AI system, faced off against three reigning drone racing champions: Thomas Bitmatta, Marvin Schapper, and Alex Vanover.
AI-Driven Drone Underwent Rigorous Training
While human pilots had a week to practice on the actual racecourse, Swift underwent rigorous training in a meticulously replicated virtual environment. To train Swift, advanced deep reinforcement learning methods were employed, allowing it to discover the most effective commands through a process of trial and error.
During the training process, Swift simulated hundreds of crashes, with the virtual setup offering the advantage of restarting training whenever necessary. Elia Kaufmann, the lead author of the study, explained, “To ensure the simulator accurately represented real-world consequences, we developed a method to fine-tune the simulator using real data.”
This remarkable achievement of an AI system dominating a physically demanding sport underscores the relentless progress of artificial intelligence across various fields. Swift’s victory stands as a testament to the incredible capabilities of AI, setting the stage for more thrilling competitions in the fast-paced world of drone racing.
