The Smart Robotics Lab (SRL) focuses on enabling technologies for mobile robots operating in a potentially unknown environment. This includes localisation (without infrastructure such as GPS), mapping, and 3D scene understanding with a suite of sensors, most importantly cameras. Respective algorithms ranging from computer vision and machine learning to motion planning and control need to be processed efficiently on-board to yield accurate results in real-time. The aim is to bridge the sense-AI-gap and empower the next generation of mobile robots that plan and execute complex tasks in potentially cluttered, and dynamic environments, possibly close to people. SRL is applying the technology to drones, as used e.g. in autonomous inspection or construction scenarios demanding proximity or physical contact with structure.

Current Main Research Interests

As detailed in the Projects tab, the main areas of interest are the following:

  • Building scalable and high-quality maps for robot navigation using computer vision.
  • Multi-sensor fusion for more robust and accurate state estimation and mapping, e.g. making use of Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) or knowledge about robot kinematics/dynamics.
  • Leveraging Machine Learning (Deep Learning) to understand map semantics and other additional information about environment and robot motion.
  • Novel camera systems, e.g. event cameras and how they could be used in robotic estimation.
  • Interaction with the environment by linking robot estimation with control: from autonomous exploration to using manipulators in order to support active mapping and recognition.
  • Application to real autonomous mobile robotic systems: ranging from ground robots, to flying small Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS).

Group Members

sleuteneDr Stefan Leutenegger

The Smart Robotics Lab is led by Dr Stefan Leutenegger, Senior Lecturer in Robotics (USA equivalent Associate Professor). Stefan furthermore co-leads research projects at the Dyson Robotics Lab that is led by Andrew Davison, working on very much related research. Stefan received a BSc and MSc in Mechanical Engineering from ETH Zurich in 2006, 2008, respectively, and a PhD in 2014, working at the Autonomous Systems Lab of ETH Zurich on Unmanned Solar Airplanes: Design and Algorithms for Efficient and Robust Autonomous Operation.

Dr Masha Popovic
Post-doc
 Dimos Tzoumanikas
Post-doc		 Binbin Xu
PhD Student
Sotiris Papatheodorou
PhD Student		 Nils Funk
PhD Student		 Chris Choi
PhD Student
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