autonomous-systems | Engineering | University of Southampton

Welcome to our Autonomous Systems research case studies

Our autonomous systems research is bridging the gap between the practical and theoretical state of the art in aerial and marine robotics. The work of researchers at the University of Southampton includes the development of more efficient propulsion to extend the range of platforms, robust hardware design so that robots can survive the extreme environments they operate in, energy harvesting to realise a step change in endurance, advanced sensing and intelligent data processing to make our platforms more aware of the environments they operating in. All these efforts contribute to increasing the independence of autonomous systems, and enable mobile robot platforms to tackle challenges in the real world.

Explore our case studies

Learning in the deep

Our marine robotics and sensing research allows the seafloor to be mapped, visualised and understood at an unprecedented scale and level of detail.

Wave-powered robots

How do you propel and power autonomous surface vehicles? Our research is exploring how we can use wave energy to do this.

Biologically-inspired underwater robotics

We develop underwater robotic vehicles inspired by swimming animals; increasing their speed and agility, while making them safer to operate in delicate ocean environments.

Drones for good

SPOTTER remotely piloted aircraft developed at the University of Southampton, seen here with one of the University’s field operations support vehicles.