The Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Czech Technical University (CTU) in Prague is celebrating a decade of pioneering research in autonomous drone technology. Led by Assoc. Prof. Martin Saska, the Multi-robot Systems (MRS) group has achieved numerous world-firsts, solidifying its international reputation for groundbreaking innovations.
Here are the key milestones in MRS CTU FEE’s journey:
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2015 – The world’s first onboard MPC controller running directly on a UAV.
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2016 – Vision-based drone formation flight in challenging outdoor conditions without GPS.
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2017 – Fully autonomous drone team deployed in a UNESCO-listed church + victory at MBZIRC.
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2018 – Development of UVDAR, setting a new standard in relative drone localization.
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2019 – First-ever drone swarm flight inside a forest without external localization.
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2020 – Launch of the open-source MRS system, now used by over 2,000 researchers globally + second MBZIRC win.
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2021 – MRSX500 deployed in underground environments + success at the DARPA SubT Challenge.
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2022 – Deployment of NMPC outside the lab + real-time time-optimal trajectory planning.
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2023 – World’s fastest autonomous UAV landing in strong wind over open water.
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2024 – First fully autonomous 10 km mapping mission without GNSS + victory at SPRIND FUNKE in Germany.
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2025 – Participation in the Drone Champions League in Abu Dhabi, racing for 1 million dollars
(In progress: The MRS team is currently in the TOP 3 after the opening rounds! )
These achievements not only confirm CTU FEE’s leadership in autonomous systems research but also underscore the real-world impact of academic innovation.
Full article (in Czech): https://fel.cvut.cz/cs/aktualne/novinky/37297-10-let-spickoveho-vyzkumu-autonomnich-dronu-na-fel-cvut-pripomenme-si-nejvyznamnejsi-milniky