Photogrammetry is a technique that creates virtual environments through their photographs. To create both of the FlightGoggles virtual environments, we took countless photographs of real-world assets. We created 3DÂ graphics assets from these photographs.
This animation shows the graphics asset generated along with the pictures that were taken to generate it. (The pictures are shown as small rectangles.) As you scroll page the asset will rotate for you to get a better view.
In order to create the FlightGoggles Abandoned Factory Environment, roughly eighty graphics assets are created using the photogrammetry technique. The photo below shows photos and renderings of some of the graphics assets.
Roughly a thousand instances of the roughly eighty unique objects are used to make up the Abandoned Factory environment. The environment is meant to be one that fits best for a drone racing arena. The video below shows the environment in detail.
FlightGoggles has been used for selecting the best nine teams that will compete in the AlphaPilot challenge. AlphaPilot is a competition co-organized by Lockheed Martin, NVIDIA, and the Drone Racing League (DRL). FlightGoggles simulation challenge is the main test that the teams are asked to complete in order to make it to the race.
The video shows the top twenty teams that submitted solutions for the simulation challenge. We overlaid their trajectories, so that you can watch the competition. All drones in this video are autonomously navigating this complex simulation environment without any human intervention.
