A dark silhouette of a quadcopter drone hovers against a vibrant blue sky, with wispy clouds and sunlight peeking through.

Autonomy & Sensing

We develop intelligent control, sensor fusion, and autonomous technologies for uncrewed underwater, surface, and aerial systems. 

These innovations enable multi‑sensor situational awareness, persistent monitoring, and safer operations in challenging coastal and Arctic environments. By integrating data and autonomy, we enhance decision‑making and operational resilience across diverse maritime domains.

A diver deploying a marine robot in the ocean with a forest in the background
Deployment of marine robotics with divers from the SC’IȺNEW̱ Nation

Customizable drone solutions improve climate resiliency against flooding

Research Expertise

Adrien Desjardins portrait

Adrien Desjardins

Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Research Chair in Marine Robotics 

Underwater robotics and sensing, optics and ultrasound-based monitoring, machine learning and AI in marine applications

Dominic Liao-McPherson portrait

Dominic Liao-McPherson

Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Model predictive control, constrained control, multi-agent systems, optimization algorithms and real-time optimization, algorithmic game theory, robotics, autonomous systems

Cyrus Neary portrait

Cyrus Neary

Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering

Artificial Intelligence, robotics, autonomous systems, reinforcement learning, physics-aware machine learning and control

Alberto Padoan portrait

Alberto Padoan

Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Systems and control theory, modeling, analysis, and design of dynamical systems, with applications to biological and cyber-physical systems

Chao Liu portrait

Chao Liu

Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Robotic manipulation and grasping, swarm and modular robotics, motion planning and control, multimodal perception and reasoning

Souradeep Dutta portrait

Souradeep Dutta

Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Reinforcement Learning, cyber-physical systems, formal methods, artificial intelligence

Lutz Lampe portrait

Lutz Lampe

Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Communication and information theory, smart grid, grid diagnostics, ultra-wideband (UWB), wireless sensor networks, localization and tracking, RFID, cognitive radio, power line communications, compressed sensing, machine learning

Boris Stoeber portrait

Boris Stoeber

Professor and Associate Head of Teaching Tier 2 CRC in Microfluidics and Sensing Technology

Complex fluids, poroelasticity, microneedles, needle puncture, sensing technology, microoptical systems

Let's work together

Join us. Bring research and innovation insight to your biggest challenges. We work with industry, non-profit and government partners to accelerate solutions for the future.

Contact Us

UBC is located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm people (Musqueam; which means 'People of the River Grass') and Syilx Okanagan Nation. The land has always been a place of learning for the Musqueam and Syilx peoples, who for millennia have passed on their culture, history and traditions from one generation to the next.

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