RI Seminar: Adam Bry : Algorithms and challenges in scaling up autonomous flight

Adam Bry
CEO, Skydio

February 19, 2016

Abstract
Drones hold enormous potential for consumer video, inspection, mapping, monitoring, and perhaps even delivery. They’re also natural candidates for autonomy and likely to be among the first widely-deployed systems that incorporate meaningful intelligence based on computer vision and robotics research. In this talk I’ll discuss the trajectory of hobbies, research, and work that led me to start Skydio. I’ll cover some of the algorithms developed during my research at MIT which culminated in a fixed-wing vehicle that could navigate obstacles at high speeds. I’ll also present some of the work that we’ve done at Skydio in motion planning and perception, along with the challenges involved in building a robust robotics software system that needs to work at scale.

Speaker Biography
Adam Bry is co-founder and CEO of Skydio, a venture backed drone startup based in the bay area. Prior to Skydio he helped start Project Wing at Google[x] where he worked on the flight algorithms and software. He holds a SM in Aero/Astro from MIT and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Olin College. Adam grew up flying radio controlled airplanes and is a former national champion in precision aerobatics.