So what does it mean for a machine to be athletic? We will demonstrate the concept of machine athleticism and the research to achieve it with the help of these flying machines called quadrocopters, or quads, for short.
机器的运动性能指的是什么? 我们将向你展示机器运动性能的概念 及对此所做的相关研究工作。 我们将借助这些被称为四轴飞行器 或简称“四轴”的飞行机器人来做演示。
Quads have been around for a long time. They're so popular these days because they're mechanically simple. By controlling the speeds of these four propellers, these machines can roll, pitch, yaw, and accelerate along their common orientation. On board are also a battery, a computer, various sensors and wireless radios.
四轴飞行器存在有很长一段时间了。 它们之所以如此受欢迎, 是因为它们机械构造简单。 只要通过控制四个螺旋桨的速度, 飞行器便可完成横滚、俯仰、偏摆等动作 并能沿着同一个方向加速。 飞行器上还装有电池、电脑 及各种感应器和无线收发器。
Quads are extremely agile, but this agility comes at a cost. They are inherently unstable, and they need some form of automatic feedback control in order to be able to fly.
四轴飞行器运行极其灵活,但也正因其灵活性, 它运行却相对不稳定,需要某种形式的 自动反馈装置控制才能顺利飞行。
So, how did it just do that? Cameras on the ceiling and a laptop serve as an indoor global positioning system. It's used to locate objects in the space that have these reflective markers on them. This data is then sent to another laptop that is running estimation and control algorithms, which in turn sends commands to the quad, which is also running estimation and control algorithms. The bulk of our research is algorithms. It's the magic that brings these machines to life.
那么,它是如何完成刚才的动作的呢? 天花板上的摄像机与笔记本电脑配合 成为室内的定位系统, 用来定位在空间中 带有反光感应的飞行器。 收集到的数据被发送到 正在进行运行估算的另一台电脑上, 电脑将指令反馈给 也在运行估算的四轴飞行器上。 我们的大部分时间是花在研究运算法则上 正是这些运算法赋予了机器新生命。
So how does one design the algorithms that create a machine athlete? We use something broadly called model-based design. We first capture the physics with a mathematical model of how the machines behave. We then use a branch of mathematics called control theory to analyze these models and also to synthesize algorithms for controlling them. For example, that's how we can make the quad hover. We first captured the dynamics with a set of differential equations. We then manipulate these equations with the help of control theory to create algorithms that stabilize the quad.
那么 如何设计运算法则 来让机械具有运动员一般的灵活性呢? 我们采用称为 “基于模型设计” 的方法 首先,我们以数学模式来形容 机器运作的物理特征 然后使用数学理论的分支 — 控制理论 来分析这些数学模式, 与集合各种算法来控制他们。 举例说明,这就是我们如何能让飞行器在空中悬浮: 我们先以微分方程式来 描述悬浮的物理现象。 然后使用控制理论来重整这些方程式, 进而得出稳定飞行器的运算法。
Let me demonstrate the strength of this approach. Suppose that we want this quad to not only hover but to also balance this pole. With a little bit of practice, it's pretty straightforward for a human being to do this, although we do have the advantage of having two feet on the ground and the use of our very versatile hands. It becomes a little bit more difficult when I only have one foot on the ground and when I don't use my hands. Notice how this pole has a reflective marker on top, which means that it can be located in the space.
现在我来演示这种计算方法的优势。 假如,我们想让飞行器不仅在空中悬浮, 而且还能平衡这支杆子 只要稍加练习, 对人来说,轻易就能让杆子平衡 我们的优势是, 我们以双脚支撑平稳地站立, 及我们灵活的双手。 这样就会比较困难, 当我只用一只脚站立, 也不用手来掌握平衡。 注意,这支杆子顶上有个感应器, 意味着杆子能够被电脑定位。
(Audience) Oh!
(掌声)
(Applause)
(Applause ends)
你可以注意到四轴飞行器在进行微调,
You can notice that this quad is making fine adjustments to keep the pole balanced. How did we design the algorithms to do this? We added the mathematical model of the pole to that of the quad. Once we have a model of the combined quad-pole system, we can use control theory to create algorithms for controlling it. Here, you see that it's stable, and even if I give it little nudges, it goes back -- to the nice, balanced position.
来保持杆子平衡。 我们如何设计运算法来完成这个任务呢? 我们把杆子的数学模式 加入到四轴飞行器的数学模式上。 一旦得出四轴飞行器与杆综合系统的模式, 我们就可采用控制理论设计运算法来控制它们。 你看到它已经稳定了, 就算我稍微触动它一下, 它也会回到平衡位置。
We can also augment the model to include where we want the quad to be in space. Using this pointer, made out of reflective markers, I can point to where I want the quad to be in space a fixed distance away from me.
我们还可在该模式中加入 操控决定飞行器在空中的位置。 使用有感应器的指示器, 我可以决定飞行器,在离我一定的距离内 在空中停留的位置
(Laughter)
The key to these acrobatic maneuvers is algorithms, designed with the help of mathematical models and control theory.
能够让飞行器做到这些动作的关键是 借助于数学模式 和控制理论设计的运算法。
Let's tell the quad to come back here and let the pole drop, and I will next demonstrate the importance of understanding physical models and the workings of the physical world. Notice how the quad lost altitude when I put this glass of water on it. Unlike the balancing pole, I did not include the mathematical model of the glass in the system. In fact, the system doesn't even know that the glass is there. Like before, I could use the pointer to tell the quad where I want it to be in space.
我们让这个四轴飞行器回到这里, 把杆子取下来。 我接下来将演示 理解物理模型 和物理世界运作的重要性。 注意在我把这杯水放上去时, 这个四轴飞行器怎样降低高度。 不像平衡杆子,这个系统里我不包括 玻璃杯的数学模型。 事实上,这系统甚至不知道有杯水在那儿。 像刚才那样,我可以用指示器指令四轴飞行器 停在任何一个我指示它去的位置。
(Applause)
(掌声)
(Applause ends)
Okay, you should be asking yourself, why doesn't the water fall out of the glass? Two facts. The first is that gravity acts on all objects in the same way. The second is that the propellers are all pointing in the same direction of the glass, pointing up. You put these two things together, the net result is that all side forces on the glass are small and are mainly dominated by aerodynamic effects, which at these speeds are negligible. And that's why you don't need to model the glass. It naturally doesn't spill, no matter what the quad does.
好, 也许你们会问 为什么水不会从玻璃杯里洒出来? 有两个事实:第一个是引力 以同样的方式作用在所有物体上。 第二个是螺旋桨都指向 玻璃杯的同一个方向,朝上。 把这两个事实和在一起,最终结果 是玻璃杯上的所有侧力小, 又主要受空气动力学效应控制, 因此这些速度是微不足道的。 这就是为什么不需要给玻璃杯建立模型。 不管四轴飞行器怎样飞行,玻璃杯里的水自然不洒。
(Audience) Oh!
(Applause)
(掌声)
(Applause ends)
The lesson here is that some high-performance tasks are easier than others, and that understanding the physics of the problem tells you which ones are easy and which ones are hard. In this instance, carrying a glass of water is easy. Balancing a pole is hard.
这里的教训是一些高性能作业 比其它作业更容易。 而理解这个问题背后的物理学, 你就会知道哪些容易,哪些困难 在这种情况下,放一杯水很容易 平衡一个杆子很难
We've all heard stories of athletes performing feats while physically injured. Can a machine also perform with extreme physical damage? Conventional wisdom says that you need at least four fixed motor propeller pairs in order to fly, because there are four degrees of freedom to control: roll, pitch, yaw and acceleration. Hexacopters and octocopters, with six and eight propellers, can provide redundancy, but quadrocopters are much more popular because they have the minimum number of fixed motor propeller pairs: four. Or do they?
我们都听过这样的故事, 运动员身体受伤时表现出的壮举。 四轴飞行器外形极端受损时, 是否也能飞? 传统观念认为 至少需要四对固定电机螺旋桨来飞, 因为要控制四个自由度: 滚转、俯仰、偏摆 和加速。 六轴飞行器和八轴飞行器各带有带六个和八个螺旋桨 可以提供冗余。 但四轴飞行器更普遍, 因为它们的固定电动螺旋桨数量最少: 四个。 是吗?
(Audience) Oh!
(Laughter)
If we analyze the mathematical model of this machine with only two working propellers, we discover that there's an unconventional way to fly it. We relinquish control of yaw, but roll, pitch and acceleration can still be controlled with algorithms that exploit this new configuration. Mathematical models tell us exactly when and why this is possible. In this instance, this knowledge allows us to design novel machine architectures or to design clever algorithms that gracefully handle damage, just like human athletes do, instead of building machines with redundancy.
如果我们分析一下只带两个工作螺旋桨的 飞行器的数学模型, 会发现有一个非常规的飞行方式。 我们不控制偏摆, 但利用这个新配置的算法 滚动、俯仰和加速仍然可以得到控制。 数学模型确切地告诉我们什么时候 和为什么这是可能的。 在这种情况下,这方面的知识使我们能够设计 新颖的机器架构 或设计巧妙的算法,妥善处理损害, 就像人类运动员一样, 而不是建造具有冗余的机器。
We can't help but hold our breath when we watch a diver somersaulting into the water, or when a vaulter is twisting in the air, the ground fast approaching. Will the diver be able to pull off a rip entry? Will the vaulter stick the landing? Suppose we want this quad here to perform a triple flip and finish off at the exact same spot that it started. This maneuver is going to happen so quickly that we can't use position feedback to correct the motion during execution. There simply isn't enough time. Instead, what the quad can do is perform the maneuver blindly, observe how it finishes the maneuver, and then use that information to modify its behavior so that the next flip is better. Similar to the diver and the vaulter, it is only through repeated practice that the maneuver can be learned and executed to the highest standard.
我们禁不住屏住呼吸观看 跳水运动员翻腾入水, 或撑杆跳高运动员快速下落时, 在空中扭转身体。 跳水运动员能压水花入水吗? 撑杆跳高运动员会平稳落地吗? 假设我们让这个四轴飞行器 在同一地点 开始并完成翻转三圈。 这个动作会发生得很快 以至我们不能使用位置反馈信号 来纠正执行过程中的运动 只是没有足够的时间。 相反四轴所能做的就是盲目执行操作, 观察它完成操作的方式, 然后利用这信息修改它的行为, 以便下一个翻转做得好些。 类似于跳水运动员和撑杆跳高运动员, 只有通过反复练习 才能学会这个动作 并最高水平地来完成它。
(Laughter)
(Applause)
(掌声)
Striking a moving ball is a necessary skill in many sports. How do we make a machine do what an athlete does seemingly without effort?
击打运动中的球是许多体育项目中的一个必要技能 我们如何让一台机器做 对一个运动员来说看似毫不费力的事呢?
(Laughter)
(Applause)
(掌声)
(Applause ends)
This quad has a racket strapped onto its head with a sweet spot roughly the size of an apple, so not too large. The following calculations are made every 20 milliseconds, or 50 times per second. We first figure out where the ball is going. We then next calculate how the quad should hit the ball so that it flies to where it was thrown from. Third, a trajectory is planned that carries the quad from its current state to the impact point with the ball. Fourth, we only execute 20 milliseconds' worth of that strategy. Twenty milliseconds later, the whole process is repeated until the quad strikes the ball.
这个四轴飞行器顶上绑有一个球拍 差不多苹果大小的最佳击球位置,不能太大。 每二十毫秒进行下面的计算, 或每秒50次。 我们首先搞清球的去向。 然后计算四轴飞行器应该怎样击球 使它飞回被抛出的位置。 第三,计划一个携带四轴飞器的轨道 从目前的状态到球的落点。 第四,我们只执行值20毫秒的战略。 二十毫秒以后,重复整个过程, 直到四轴飞行器击到球。
(Applause)
(掌声)
Machines can not only perform dynamic maneuvers on their own, they can do it collectively. These three quads are cooperatively carrying a sky net.
机器不仅可以自己执行动态操作, 还可以一起来进行。 这三个四轴飞行器在空中共同支起一张网。
(Applause)
(掌声)
(Applause ends)
They perform an extremely dynamic and collective maneuver to launch the ball back to me. Notice that, at full extension, these quads are vertical.
它们执行一个非常动态的 集体行动 将球回传给我。 注意网完全伸展时,这些四轴飞行器是垂直的。
(Applause)
(掌声)
In fact, when fully extended, this is roughly five times greater than what a bungee jumper feels at the end of their launch.
事实上, 完全伸展时, 这大约是五倍于 蹦极者跳到最低点的力量。
The algorithms to do this are very similar to what the single quad used to hit the ball back to me. Mathematical models are used to continuously re-plan a cooperative strategy 50 times per second.
计算这个的算法非常类似于 用单个四轴飞行器击球回传给我。 使用数学模型不断重新规划 一个每秒50次的合作策略。
Everything we have seen so far has been about the machines and their capabilities. What happens when we couple this machine athleticism with that of a human being? What I have in front of me is a commercial gesture sensor mainly used in gaming. It can recognize what my various body parts are doing in real time. Similar to the pointer that I used earlier, we can use this as inputs to the system. We now have a natural way of interacting with the raw athleticism of these quads with my gestures.
目前我们所看到的一切 是机器和自己的能力。 当我们把机器的运动天赋 和人的运动天赋连接起来会发生什么呢? 我面前的是一个商业用的姿势传感器, 主要用于游戏。 它可以识别我身体的不同部位 实时地在做什么。 类似于我前面用的指示器, 我们可以用这个作为系统的输入。 我们现在有一种自然的方式, 让这些四轴的原始的运动天赋和我的手势交互。
(Applause)
(掌声)
Interaction doesn't have to be virtual. It can be physical. Take this quad, for example. It's trying to stay at a fixed point in space. If I try to move it out of the way, it fights me, and moves back to where it wants to be. We can change this behavior, however. We can use mathematical models to estimate the force that I'm applying to the quad. Once we know this force, we can also change the laws of physics, as far as the quad is concerned, of course. Here, the quad is behaving as if it were in a viscous fluid.
交互不一定是虚拟的,它可以是物质的。 例如这个四轴飞行器, 它正设法呆在空间里的一个固定点上。 如果我试图让它离开,它就抵抗我, 回到它想呆的地方。 然而我们可以改变这种行为。 我们能利用数学模型 估计我正施加在四轴飞行器上的力。 一旦知道了这个力,我们也可以改变物理定律, 当然就四轴飞行器而言。 这里四轴飞行器表现得好像它
We now have an intimate way of interacting with a machine. I will use this new capability to position this camera-carrying quad to the appropriate location for filming the remainder of this demonstration.
在粘性流体中。 我们现在用一种亲密的方式 来和机器进行交互。 我将用这个新的能力来把 这个带有摄相机的四轴飞行器定位在合适的位置 拍下剩下的演示。
So we can physically interact with these quads and we can change the laws of physics. Let's have a little bit of fun with this. For what you will see next, these quads will initially behave as if they were on Pluto. As time goes on, gravity will be increased until we're all back on planet Earth, but I assure you we won't get there. Okay, here goes.
这样我们可以实际与这些四轴交互 并能改变物理定律。 让我们从中得到一点小小的乐趣。 你们接下来要看到的,这些四轴飞行器 会最初表现为好像它们在冥王星上。 随着时间的变化,引力会增加 直到我们都回到地球上。 但是我向你们保证我们不会的。 好,开始 。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
(Laughter)
(笑声)
(Applause)
(掌声)
Whew! You're all thinking now, these guys are having way too much fun, and you're probably also asking yourself, why exactly are they building machine athletes? Some conjecture that the role of play in the animal kingdom is to hone skills and develop capabilities. Others think that it has more of a social role, that it's used to bind the group. Similarly, we use the analogy of sports and athleticism to create new algorithms for machines to push them to their limits. What impact will the speed of machines have on our way of life? Like all our past creations and innovations, they may be used to improve the human condition or they may be misused and abused. This is not a technical choice we are faced with; it's a social one. Let's make the right choice, the choice that brings out the best in the future of machines, just like athleticism in sports can bring out the best in us.
呼! 你们现在都在想, 这些家伙太有意思了, 你们大概也在问自己, 他们到底为什么建造机器运动员? 一些人猜想,在动物王国中发挥的作用 是磨练技能和发展能力。 其他的人则认为它有更多的社会作用, 可以用来组织团队。 同样,我们使用体育和运动的类比 创建了机器的新算法 使它们达到自己的极限。 机器的速度对我们的生活方式会有什么影响呢? 像所有我们过去的创造和创新一样, 它们要么可以用来改善人类生存条件 要么可能被误用和滥用。 这不是我们正面临的技术选择, 而是一个社会选择。 让我们做出正确的诀择, 这个选择带来未来机器最好的东西, 就像体育中的运动 能给我们带来最好的东西一样。
Let me introduce you to the wizards behind the green curtain. They're the current members of the Flying Machine Arena research team.
让我来给你们介绍一下这个绿幕背后的奇才们。 他们是飞行器竞技场研究队的现任成员。
(Applause)
(掌声)
Federico Augugliaro, Dario Brescianini, Markus Hehn, Sergei Lupashin, Mark Muller and Robin Ritz. Look out for them. They're destined for great things.
Federico Augugliaro, Dario Brescianini , Markus Hehn, Sergei Lupashin, Mark Muller 和 Robin Ritz。 留心这些人,他们注定要成就大事。
Thank you.
谢谢。
(Applause)
(掌声)