US to build 'goshawk' drones capable of flying upto 70km per hour indoors

The US Defence Department's Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has recently asked researchers to build "goshawk" drones that could fly upto 70km/h indoors and are small enough to enter into a building through an open window without human operators accompanying them.

The inspiration for the programme was the goshawk, a bird of prey with a remarkable ability to navigate through dense woodlands without smacking into a tree, Stuff.co.nz reported.

The avian-influenced project was being called the Fast Lightweight Autonomy Programme. DARPA plans to award several grants and contracts worth up to US 5.5 million dollars each to get FLAP off the ground.

What DARPA wants researchers to develop are so-called autonomy algorithms that would make it possible for drones to quickly find their way around corners and through indoor obstacles without human intervention. The agency was also interested in drones with the ability to learn from their past travels.

These new flyers would be operated by a remote pilot who could be sitting millions of miles away, but the drone still must be able to make minuscule, split-second decisions to navigate a room on its own. Moving more than 60 feet per second, they should be fast enough to stay one step ahead of soldiers or those they are pursuing, according to DARPA.