A spark between human and machine

ETH: How did your partnership develop with Cirque du Soleil to make this short film and will they add flying machines to their international shows?
Raffaello D¡¯Andrea: We¡¯ve been fortunate that our work at ETH Zurich has received a lot of public attention over the past years. This has led to many people contacting us to explore collaborations.
Waibel: We have been in discussion with Cirque du Soleil for over 2 years. We both share the view that technology can be used to amaze audiences and tell wonderful stories.

Tell us a little bit about the ¡°magic¡± and what is happening ¡°behind the scenes¡± in the film?
D'Andrea: The film shoot took place in the Flying Machine Arena at ETH Zurich, which is a sophisticated test bed for autonomous flight that we use for development, testing, and demonstration of our flying machines. It consists of off-the-shelf hardware components like a motion capture system that serves as an indoor GPS, a couple of standard desktop PCs, and wireless routers. The core part of the Flying Machine Arena its system architecture and software infrastructure, including a framework that allows for the rapid prototyping of motions in simulation as well as software implementations of many of our research results on control methods and control algorithms. This is also where the main focus of our research lies.
In terms of technology most of what was happening behind the scenes was very similar to what we had already done in some 200 other live demonstrations for visitors over the past 6 years. One difference was the addition of lampshades, which resulted in less control authority and more model uncertainty and was thus a great way to stress test our existing algorithms. Another important difference was the complexity of the choreography, enabled by a new choreography tool developed by our spin-off company Verity Studios.

How was the choreography developed?
Waibel: Figuring out what is easy and what is difficult to achieve with autonomous quadrocopters can be quite counter-intuitive -- you can see great examples of that in our recent presentation at external page TED Global. Therefore having Verity Studios and Cirque du Soleil collaborate on the key creative elements of the story from the early phases of the project was key to overcoming this challenge. Based on a first version of the script, Verity Studios created a range of choreographies. These choreographies were not fully pre-programmed, but rather offered motion primitives that we could then quickly adapt to integrate feedback from the film director, cameraman, and everyone else on the creative team during rehearsals.

Is it possible for the quadrocopters to fly outside of the Flying Machine Arena?
D'Andrea: Yes. For example, we recently demonstrated our external page failsafe algorithm outside, near Zurichberg. This algorithm allows a quadrocopter to recover from the failure of a motor or propeller, greatly increasing their reliability and safety.

What benefit do flying machines provide to society?
D¡¯Andrea: At ETH Zurich we focus on two main benefits: Research and education. We have found that building complete systems that allow people to experience what control systems are all about is highly educational and incredibly motivating for our students. At the same time, complete systems like our Flying Machine Arena are excellent for testing theoretic concepts and often raise new and broader theoretic challenges than the immediate application. For flying machines, many of the most difficult research problems in controls are linked to their physical interaction with their environment and to how they can safely coexist and even interact with people.
Waibel: Over the past two years it has become clear that flying machines will provide many more benefits to society beyond research and education. It is inevitable that flying machines will find their way onto major stages. With this short film and Verity Studios¡¯ work in general we see the potential of making a cultural and artistic contribution to society.

How does your team address the fears that people have that flying robots will be used for sinister purposes?
Waibel: The introduction of quadrocopters in a theater environment provides a great opportunity to provoke and challenge the audience regarding these fears and at the same time show how drones can be used for applications that may currently still seem unconventional.
D'Andrea: There is an inherent risk that any new technology may be used in detrimental ways. Rather than suppress technological advancement, I feel the best strategy is for legislation to err on the permissive side, rather than attempting to solve problems that may not even exist. When problems do arise, it will be important for regulations to be quick, decisive, and well-enforced.

In an interview you once referred to universities as places where students should be unconstrained, allowed to push boundaries, and to do things that have never been done before. What is the next barrier or boundary you wish to break through?
D'Andrea: One of our research interests is human-machine interaction. There are so many interesting and unsolved problems in this area, and it is clear that a world where machines are seamlessly integrated into our daily lives is where we are headed.

What advice would you give to young people interested in this field?
Waibel: The best advice I can give to a young person is this: Diligently following your passion. You will be spending the most productive hours of your life working, so make sure you are working on something you really enjoy and put your heart into becoming good at what you do.