Swarm, one of the prominent subnets in the Bittensor ecosystem, has announced the launch of a new division called Ascend, with an ambitious goal: to build the world’s first self-flying drone fully powered by decentralized AI.
According to Swarm (SN124), Ascend will begin testing with FPV-sized drones, sourcing and assembling every component in-house. While the hardware development is just starting, the team says its software is already showing promising results in simulation, thanks to miners and validators on the Bittensor network.
Swarm’s algorithm is already proving itself in simulation
Early simulations, run on Swarm’s subnet, have reportedly produced drones capable of dodging walls, executing flawless test flights, and adapting instantly to environmental changes. These results are achieved through reinforcement learning policies trained by thousands of decentralized miners across Bittensor’s infrastructure.
“The leap from simulation to reality starts here,” the team wrote in its launch statement.
The project marks a notable expansion of Bittensor’s use cases beyond language and data-focused AI, moving into real-world robotics. If successful, Ascend could demonstrate how decentralized AI networks like Bittensor can power physical systems, not just digital services.
The team says its immediate focus is on optimizing speed and efficiency for the drones, with miners continuously training models to refine flight policies. While no specific timeline for a public demonstration has been disclosed, Swarm hinted that the first live test flight could be imminent.
Ascend, according to Swarm, is “the start of a long journey where simulation turns into flight, and algorithms meet the real sky.”
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