Drones

Flying robots capable of inspecting and repairing building envelopes, interacting with natural ecosystems, and monitoring climate change and biodiversity are being developed and tested at the DroneHub at Empa's NEST. This cutting-edge facility, inaugurated today in partnership with Imperial College London, UK, is dedicated to pioneering autonomous robots that work harmoniously within both natural and man-made environments.

Remote sensing specialist Petra D’Odorico likes to fly drones. Not as a hobby, but rather to record high-resolution multispectral and thermal images, which can be used to create an early warning system to detect drought stress in forests before it becomes apparent.

An AI program can train neural networks, using just a handful of images, to rapidly characterize in satellite and drone data new objects like ocean debris, deforestation zones, urban areas and more.

The SailMAV drone can fly and sail on water due to its foldable wings. Its special design also allows it to record wildlife behavior, as animals do not perceive the drone as a hostile intruder.

A team led by researchers from ETH Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) advances to the finals of the XPRIZE Rainforest Competition. The international competition aims to promote the development of autonomous technologies for collecting data on biodiversity.

Researchers from Empa and Imperial College London are developing a heat-resistant drone that can analyze the source of danger at close range in the event of a building or forest fire. This allows firefighters to optimize the strategy of a high-risk operation before entering the danger zone.