Autonomous Robotic Rotorcraft for Exploration, Surveillance and Transportation (ARREST)

In this NSF sponsored Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) project, we are creating partnerships with small-business entrepreneurs in the area of micro aerial vehicles with applications to agriculture, security, law enforcement and first response. The partnership will enable the translation of fundamental, federally-sponsored, research results into products with societal benefits and commercial impact by implementing a loosely structured, commercially focused “play-like sandbox” environment among its partners. The Y-Prize competition at Penn is designed to explore novel applications and create new companies. In particular, Kumar Lab is partnering with KMel Robotics on multi-UAV systems and inspection in complex, 3-D environments, and IDENTIFIED in site surveying and aerial mapping.