SwarMAV: A Swarm of Miniature Aerial Vehicles

As the MAV (Micro or Miniature Aerial Vehicles) field matures, we expect to see that the platform's degree of autonomy, the information exchange, and the coordination with other manned and unmanned actors, will become at least as crucial as its aerodynamic design. The project described in this paper explores some aspects of a particularly exciting possible avenue of development: an autonomous swarm of MAVs which exploits its inherent reliability (through redundancy), and its ability to exchange information among the members, in order to cope with a dynamically changing environment and achieve its mission. We describe the successful realization of a prototype experimental platform weighing only 75g, and outline a strategy for the automatic design of a suitable controller

UltraSwarm: A Further Step Towards a Flock of Miniature Helicopters

We describe further progress towards the development of a MAV (micro aerial vehicle) designed as an enabling tool to investigate aerial flocking. Our research focuses on the use of low cost off the shelf vehicles and sensors to enable fast prototyping and to reduce development costs. Details on the design of the embedded electronics and the modification of the chosen toy helicopter are presented, and the technique used for state estimation is described. The fusion of inertial data through an unscented Kalman filter is used to estimate the helicopter’s state, and this forms the main input to the control system. Since no detailed dynamic model of the helicopter in use is available, a method is proposed for automated system identification, and for subsequent controller design based on artificial evolution. Preliminary results obtained with a dynamic simulator of a helicopter are reported, along with some encouraging results for tackling the problem of flocking

Remembering Ewan MacColl: the Agency of Writing and the Creation of a Participatory Popular Culture

In this article Owen Holland examines Ewan MacColl's early work in agit-prop theatre and his later activity as a songwriter, performer, and collector in the second British folk revival. He argues that his experience in the theatre provides a necessary route into understanding the problems of his later work – and what unites the ‘two halves’ is MacColl's consistent sense of the function of art (specifically his preferred media of drama and song) within a wider politico-cultural praxis. There is a contradiction in MacColl's praxis, however, in that while he wanted to create a popular culture of participation, his dogmatic textual strategies and exclusivist tendencies often became coercive enough to undermine his intentions. The discussion of MacColl's writing is situated within a critique of the problems that appear in his wider praxis, and Holland concludes by asserting that MacColl's agency as a writer was achieved through the development of a performance-oriented aesthetic. Owen Holland is a PhD candidate in the English Faculty at the University of Cambridge, affiliated to St Catharine's College. His research focuses on utopian fiction in the late nineteenth century, with a particular interest in William Morris.</jats:p

Beyond swarm intelligence: The Ultraswarm

This paper explores the idea that it may be possible to combine two ideas – UAV flocking, and wireless cluster computing – in a single system, the UltraSwarm. The possible advantages of such a system are considered, and solutions to some of the technical problems are identified. Initial work on constructing such a system based around miniature electric helicopters is described

Evolution of Neural Networks for Helicopter Control: Why Modularity Matters

The problem of the automatic development of controllers for vehicles for which the exact characteristics are not known is considered in the context of miniature helicopter flocking. A methodology is proposed in which neural network based controllers are evolved in a simulation using a dynamic model qualitatively similar to the physical helicopter. Several network architectures and evolutionary sequences are investigated, and two approaches are found that can evolve very competitive controllers. The division of the neural network into modules and of the task into incremental steps seems to be a precondition for success, and we analyse why this might be so

Australia's engagement with international climate change law under the First Rudd Government: a good international citizen?

This thesis examines whether Australia acted as a 'good international citizen' in its engagement with international climate change law (ICCL) during the term of the first Rudd Labor government (3 December 2007 – 24 June 2010). The assessment is undertaken by examining the Rudd government's engagement with the key development in ICCL during its term of office, namely, the 'post-2012' negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol. Launched by the Bali Roadmap, December 2007, the period of negotiations reviewed by this thesis culminated in the adoption of the landmark Copenhagen Accord in December 2009. Given the complexity and breadth of issues addressed by the post-2012 negotiations, the thesis focuses on one major aspect of the negotiations, namely: the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. This was the central issue for the post-2012 negotiations to resolve and the key negotiating priority of the Rudd government. The thesis undertakes its assessment by utilising the concept of good international citizenship – a foreign policy goal first espoused in Australia by former Labor Foreign Minister, Gareth Evans, in the late 1980s – and later endorsed by the Rudd government. While there is no agreed definition of good international citizenship, essentially it requires states to adopt a more ethical approach to foreign policy. This means that states must forego the dogged pursuit of narrow national interests, recognising that they have a responsibility to promote the common good of the international community, not just self-interest. The concept is associated with a number of attributes such as showing respect for international law and providing leadership in the international sphere. The ramifications of good international citizenship for governmental engagement with ICCL have received little attention in the literature, and thus this thesis explores the practical requirements of the concept in this field

The Dual Origin of the Terrestrial Atmosphere

The origin of the terrestrial atmosphere is one of the most puzzling enigmas in the planetary sciences. It is suggested here that two sources contributed to its formation, fractionated nebular gases and accreted cometary volatiles. During terrestrial growth, a transient gas envelope was fractionated from nebular composition. This transient atmosphere was mixed with cometary material. The fractionation stage resulted in a high Xe/Kr ratio, with xenon being more isotopically fractionated than krypton. Comets delivered volatiles having low Xe/Kr ratios and solar isotopic compositions. The resulting atmosphere had a near-solar Xe/Kr ratio, almost unfractionated krypton delivered by comets, and fractionated xenon inherited from the fractionation episode. The dual origin therefore provides an elegant solution to the long-standing "missing xenon" paradox. It is demonstrated that such a model could explain the isotopic and elemental abundances of Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe in the terrestrial atmosphere.Comment: Icarus, in press, 31 pages, 6 tables, and 6 figure