The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected Josh Peschel, an associate professor and associate chair for research and extension in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, for a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award. He received the award for his project on “Foundational Interaction Research for Manipulating Drones.”
CAREER awards are the NSF’s most prestigious awards given to faculty. The support aims to build a firm foundation for leadership in integrating research and education. Over the next five years, Peschel will receive nearly $600,000 to develop and execute his project and do local outreach.
Throughout much of his career, Peschel has been doing the groundwork of defining questions and answers related to human-robot interaction with drones. This project is the culmination of knowledge and testing he has done so far, and it provides an opportunity to define and build implementable solutions for specific drone use cases in the future.
The advancements Peschel has made so far contribute to protection features, improving the capability to explore different terrains without damaging the environment it is accessing or the drone itself. Peschel and his students have also built an arm to attach to drones; the arm can manipulate objects, take samples, and interact with its surroundings.
Rather than using drones to just observe, Peschel’s goal is for drones to be a tool for experiencing an environment. Many professions come with significant risks to the person performing them that can be addressed with drones. For agricultural-based uses, drones could administer medication for sick livestock, investigate inside grain bins, collect crop samples, and more.
“This project uses drones to maximize human engagement while minimizing human risk. Our work is to define the best perspectives, manipulation techniques, and then integrate these to design human-robot interfaces,” said Peschel.
Part of this award is an outreach component, and Peschel selected Nevada Community Schools to do K-12 activities, events, and presentations designed to foster interest in innovative technology and STEM topics. Local teachers and the PTA will be collaborating on these efforts.
“Nevada Community Schools have already had success in rural science enhancement. I live in Nevada and am excited to continue planting the seeds of technology interaction and innovation in my community,” said Peschel.