Our research focuses on drones and autonomous systems, addressing key societal challenges and enabling future advancements in the field.
We are committed to advancing drone technology across various sectors, including
- Nature conservation and biodiversity
- Sustainable agriculture
- Infrastructure inspection
- Search and rescue
- Security and defence
Our primary expertise lies in aerial systems, but our research extends to autonomous systems operating across aerial, terrestrial, and maritime (surface and sub-surface) domains.
Our work encompasses the development of drone-in-a-box systems, which facilitate autonomous take-off, mission execution, landing, and charging. We also explore airspace integration to ensure safe and regulated operation within shared environments, multi-drone systems, and ethical considerations in drone design and usage.
Our objective is to elevate the autonomy of drone systems. This involves enabling drones to undertake long-term missions autonomously, designing novel human-drone interaction paradigms for systems with a high level of autonomy, achieving precise and reliable aerial manipulation, and advancing large-scale perception to equip drones with the ability to understand complex environments. Additionally, we are pioneering the integration of drones with other autonomous and cyber-physical systems to enhance their utility and to expand deployment possibilities.