"Neural Lander" Uses AI to Land Drones Smoothly
05-23-19
Professors Chung, Anandkumar, and Yue have teamed up to develop a system that uses a deep neural network to help autonomous drones "learn" how to land more safely and quickly, while gobbling up less power. The system they have created, dubbed the "Neural Lander," is a learning-based controller that tracks the position and speed of the drone, and modifies its landing trajectory and rotor speed accordingly to achieve the smoothest possible landing. The new system could prove crucial to projects currently under development at CAST, including an autonomous medical transport that could land in difficult-to-reach locations (such as a gridlocked traffic). "The importance of being able to land swiftly and smoothly when transporting an injured individual cannot be overstated," says Professor Gharib who is the director of CAST; and one of the lead researchers of the air ambulance project. [Caltech story]
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research highlights
Morteza Gharib
Yisong Yue
Soon-Jo Chung
Animashree Anandkumar
A Gift of Autonomy
06-21-18
Trustees Lynn Booth and Kent Kresa have decided to endow the Booth-Kresa Leadership Chair for Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies (CAST). Professor Mory Gharib explains, “in science and technology, freedom is the most powerful gift you can offer. The Booth-Kresa Leadership Chair will help ensure that CAST can move nimbly into our emerging more autonomous future, unleashing the creativity of our faculty, students, and scholars. I am personally grateful to Lynn and Kent for their generosity, enthusiasm, and trust in our vision.” [Breakthrough story]
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GALCIT
Morteza Gharib
Kent Kresa
Lynn Booth
Caltech Trustees
The Future is Autonomous
05-01-17
On April 19, 2017 Electrical Engineering alumnus Evangelos Simoudis (BS '83) moderated a panel titled "The Road Ahead: A Panel on the Future of Driverless Vehicles," hosted by the Caltech Associates. The panel members were Professors Mory Gharib, Richard Murray, and Pietro Perona, along with Reuters automotive industry reporter, Paul Lienert. They discuss a variety of opportunities and challenges associated with autonomous technologies and systems. Beyond the legal and ethical challenges, several technological obstacles must be overcome before driverless cars become common on the road. One key challenge is teaching driverless cars how to read the behavior of other cars and react accordingly. Professor Perona described the problem of a car attempting to merge onto a crowded freeway. A driverless car would see an impenetrable wall of vehicles, but a human driver could edge forward and wave at other drivers to work his or her way into the line of traffic. [Caltech story]
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EE
GALCIT
CMS
Morteza Gharib
Pietro Perona
alumni
Richard Murray
Evangelos Simoudis
Paul Lienert
Dr. van Zyl Receives Honorary Doctorate
10-02-15
Dr. Jakob J. van Zyl (PhD ’86 EE), Caltech Senior Faculty Associate in Electrical Engineering and Aerospace, as well as the Associate Director of Project Formulation and Strategy at JPL, will receive an honorary Doctor of Engineering (DIng) degree from Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Dr. van Zyl was born in Outjo, Namibia and received his first degree in electrical engineering from the University of Stellenbosch . He then came to Caltech where he obtained his Masters and PhD in electrical engineering.
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EE
honors
GALCIT
alumni
JPL
Jakob van Zyl
Space Solar Power Initiative
04-28-15
Caltech and Northrop Grumman Corporation have signed a $17.5 million sponsored research agreement for the development of the Space Solar Power Initiative (SSPI). The initiative will develop technologies in three areas: high-efficiency ultralight photovoltaics; ultralight deployable space structures; and phased array and power transmission. "The Space Solar Power Initiative brings together electrical engineers, applied physicists, and aerospace engineers in the type of profound interdisciplinary collaboration that is seamlessly enhanced at a small place like Caltech... We are working on extremely difficult problems that could eventually provide the world with new, and very cost-competitive technology for sustainable energy,” said EAS Chair Ares Rosakis. [Caltech story] [Northrop Grumman Release]
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APhMS
EE
energy
research highlights
GALCIT
Harry Atwater
Ares Rosakis
Ali Hajimiri
Sergio Pellegrino
