Drone swarm avoids crashing in dense forest using new algorithm

A new system of flying while avoiding obstacles enables a swarm of 10 lightweight drones to fly together without crashing into one another – or the environment. Drones can compute their location and find a path to follow using a panoply of sensors, which can be expensive and unwieldy. Shrinking down a drone often involves getting rid of key components, impacting its ability to travel safely. But a new method by Chinese researchers reduces the size and hardware requirements of a drone while keeping its computing nous.