Microsoft has launched Project AirSim, a drone flight simulator that can be used to teach and develop software and control unmanned aerial vehicles. The program allows you to test flight in the most risky areas, for example, near power lines.
This is reported by the BBC.
Millions of situations can be simulated with this project. For example, companies will be able to test how a drone flies in the rain or learn how strong winds can affect battery life.
Project AirSim will use technologies to train artificial intelligence systems that control a variety of autonomous air vehicles, from air taxis to unmanned aerial vehicles.
American company Airtonomy already uses drones to inspect its infrastructure — wind turbines and power lines.
The companyʼs chief executive, Josh Reedy, told the BBC that where it used to take three people, drones now fly autonomously and can be controlled by just one person on the ground.
"The simulated environment allows us to make mistakes when dealing with critical infrastructure," Reedy added.
The system also allows developers to work out scenarios that would be dangerous to test in real life, such as what would happen if the droneʼs visibility was blocked.
Microsoft hopes its simulator can be used by civil aviation regulators to test systems — for example, to see how a drone performs in very heavy rain or copes with the loss of geolocation data.