The Leonardo Torres Quevedo National Prize in the Engineering area of 2021, awarded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation a few weeks ago, bears the name of Aníbal Ollero. This Sevillian, who prefers not to say his age ("I am a veteran," he clarifies), is the father of aerial robotics in Spain. In the 1990s he traveled to the United States to do research in this field and, with the knowledge acquired, back in Seville he promoted the development of drones at the university of his city. He is responsible for the robotics and intelligent systems laboratory at the center, which will soon be transformed into an institute, and is also a scientific advisor to the Advanced Center for Aerospace Technologies.
In an interview conducted by video call, he explains that, in a few hours, he will travel with his team to a refinery in France where they are going to test one of the drones they have developed in recent times. This particular device will allow working on pipes at height that are subject to corrosion and, for safety, the thickness of their walls should be checked periodically. The aerial robot will land on them and roll while taking measurements over thousands of kilometers (they can occupy about 40,000, enough to go around the world). Ollero does not hesitate, first of all, to defend the international role of Andalusia in general and of the University of Seville in particular in the world of aerial robotics. He claims to be the author with the most publications in this field worldwide,along with two of his teammates, who are in the top 10.
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Drones take flight in Andalusia
Question:
When you returned from the United States, in what state was the research in aerial robotics in Spain?
Answer:
Then there was no one in Spain working on it.
There were people who made unmanned aerial vehicles, but aerial robotics did not exist.
In a way, we drive it.
The first European Commission project that I coordinated was from 2002 to 2005. We had a fleet of drones with different characteristics and we used them to detect and monitor forest fires.
We did some demonstrations in Portugal.
At that time it was very novel.
Q:
How have you tried to push this field forward and engage students to specialize in this area?
Have you seen an increase in interest in drones in recent years?
A:
Undoubtedly. To achieve our results we need funding, which we mainly get from the Commission and companies, and secondly we have to have people participate in our projects. Therefore, a very important task is to motivate our students. One of our most important projects is Aerial-Core, in which we apply artificial intelligence techniques so that drones can fly longer and help workers with tasks at height, for example, and there are many students involved in it. Many times companies apply these technologies before the project is finished. The other big project is Griffin, with which we are trying to develop a new generation of unmanned aerial vehicles inspired by birds, which are capable of flapping their wings and landing automatically on a ledge,or even on a wire, as birds do. We are the first in the world to do it.
Aníbal Ollero poses with another of the drones of the University of Seville.PACO PUENTES
Q:
How long have you been working at Griffin?
A:
Three years.
And we have two more.
I am confident that at the end of this project we will be close to generating products that can be sold and that, just as the drones we worked with years ago are now bought in a supermarket, our robotic birds will be able to be bought in a few years in stores.
Q:
How do you see the more or less near future of birds, delivery drones or air taxis, especially in terms of legislation?
A:
Much progress has been made.
When we started doing this there was no legislation.
We were always in a gray area where you couldn't ask for permits.
Given the technological maturity and the interest of the companies, legislation began in each country.
At the beginning of this year a new European regulation was launched.
This is clearly going to be needed.
To do this, we are working on increasing the safety of drones, integrating them into the airspace and enhancing infrastructures on the ground, so that they can take off, land, load ...
Q:
What would you say to those who are afraid of seeing drones flying through cities?
A:
In other times there was a person who went with a bell in front of cars warning that they were coming behind, and that was considered a security measure. Every time there is a technological advance of great magnitude, doubts are raised about its safety. This same issue now arises with unmanned aerial vehicles, until, somehow, not only the technology can mature, but also the perception that one has of it. We advocate that the understanding and acceptance of the general public of our technologies be fostered, and I believe that we must continue working on it so as not to have to go like the bell.
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