Innovating across boundaries for a sustainable tomorrow.
Our research brings together a wide range of disciplines to tackle sustainability challenges from every angle.
From developing advanced robotic systems for precision agriculture to automating resource-efficient manufacturing processes and exploring environmental monitoring with autonomous technologies, we focus on areas where innovation can have the greatest impact. We aim to create solutions that benefit people and the planet by integrating engineering, artificial intelligence, and sustainability principles.
Dive into our research projects to discover how we drive progress across critical sectors.
FOUR ELEMENTS.
Our interdisciplinary research spans four core domains, each addressing a critical challenge at the intersection of robotics and environmental sustainability.
EARTH
Our research advances aerial additive manufacturing, enabling drones to perform precise repair and construction tasks on diverse surfaces. The aim is to transform how infrastructure is built and maintained by enabling autonomous, high-precision, low-risk interventions.
Our team is creating soft, metamorphic aerial–aquatic robots that can fly, land on water, and operate below the surface, enabling full mission cycles across air and water. This technology aims to unlock environmental monitoring in remote and sensitive ecosystems.
We develop bio-inspired robots capable of navigating dense and complex natural environments such as forest canopies to autonomously collect abiotic and biotic data, supporting long-term biodiversity assessment and ecological restoration strategies.
Part of the research focuses on robots that can function in dangerous or extreme scenarios such as fire. These drones are designed to navigate smoke or heat, and perform tasks too risky for humans. The goal is to create resilient robotic systems that enhance safety in extreme environments.
FROM THE LAB.
LANDMARK PUBLICATIONS.
Aerial Additive Manufacturing
Kaya, Y. F., Orr, L., Bahadir Kocer, B., Pawar, V., Stuart-Smith, R. and Kovac, M. Aerial Additive Manufacturing: Towards On-site Building Construction with Aerial Robots Science Robotics, Vol 10, Issue 101. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.ado6251
Zhang, K., Chermprayong, P., Xiao, F. et al. Aerial additive manufacturing with multiple autonomous robots. Nature 609, 709–717. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04988-4 (cover article)
2025
Biodegradable sensors are ready to transform autonomous ecological monitoring
Sethi, S.S., Kovac, M., Wiesemüller, F., Miriyev, A., Viellard-Boutry, C., Biodegradable sensors are ready to transform autonomous ecological monitoring Nature Ecology & Evolution 6, pp. 1245–1247 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01824-w
2022
Between Sea and Sky: Aerial Aquatic Locomotion in Miniature Robots
Zufferey, R., Armanini, S.F., Siddall, R., Kovac, M., Between Sea and Sky: Aerial Aquatic Locomotion in Miniature Robots Springer, Book Series Biosystems & Biorobotics 29 (267 pages) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89575-4
2021
Skills for Physical Artificial Intelligence
Miriyev, A., Kovac, M., Skills for Physical Artificial Intelligence Nature Machine Intelligence 2, pp. 658-660 (cover article)
2020
2022