ARIA
= Autonomous Roadless Intelligent Array. "ARIA is an open source autonomous logistics infrastructure that leapfrogs traditional road infrastructure". [1]
URL = http://aria-logistics.com/
=Descriptio
"a grand idea: creating an Internet-like network of AAVs that could one day allow someone to make a one-to-one sale with anyone in the world or send medication quickly to where it’s needed most, simply by delivering goods on a flying autonomous vehicle to its destination. But before Aria (that’s the name of Matternet’s open-source group) does that, it’s teaming up with ReAllocate--an organization that’s building a network of designers and engineers who want to use their expertise to work on humanitarian issues--for an experimental project at Burning Man (if Aria can secure tickets; that’s still up in the air)." (http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680223/a-real-internet-of-things-for-the-developing-world-and-burning-man)
Discussion
Ariel Schwartz:
""The ground stations are like the routers of the Internet. They can extend range and capacity of the drones," explains Arturo Pelayo, the co-founder of Aria.
Pelayo imagines all sorts of uses for the open-source drone network once it gets up and running: HIV tests that can be quickly delivered to labs, eliminating potentially deadly waiting times; medicine delivery in remote areas; even observing permafrost disappearance and other global warming-related changes. Eventually, the UAVs might be able to transport people--but that’s not a priority. "If we make it easier for a villager in Africa who is manufacturing small necklaces to ship products through a cheap and ubiquitous network, their need to go into the cities is reduced dramatically," says Yasser Bahjatt, co-founder and CEO of Aria.
Pelayo emphasizes that Aria will not build its own drones; rather, it will offer hardware as a service. "We are going to have hundreds of vehicles in the air, and we need to find a way to have an artificial intelligence network to maneuver traffic," he says. Aria will be in charge of that network, while others can build open-source vehicles and applications--in other words, people can decide individually (or as part of communities) how they want the network to serve them." (http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680223/a-real-internet-of-things-for-the-developing-world-and-burning-man)
Status
At Burning Man 2012 and after: "ARIA and ReAllocate.org are developing an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). We will be delivering a system that is capable of tracking a person (via GPS-enabled tracker) and delivering a payload to their dynamic location via an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)." [2]
See: Open Source Unmanned Aerial System