With Flying Colours He sees SUPER being a gamechanger in several areas. Its ability to fly fast and safely in unknown environments makes it ideal for search and rescue, where it can quickly navigate disaster zones to locate survivors. In disaster relief, it could also deliver critical supplies through tricky terrains such as dense forests or urban ruins. “We’ve also tested it for tasks like tracking a moving person or vehicle, exploring unknown areas autonomously, and navigating preset waypoints, even in low-light conditions,” he said. “These capabilities open doors for applications in emergency response, environmental monitoring, or even logistics in challenging settings. Essentially, anywhere you need to operate autonomously in challenging environments.” The next steps for MAVs, including systems like SUPER, are about pushing the boundaries even further. The team want to make the drones even more robust so they can handle extreme weather, like heavy rain or wind, and navigate even denser environments. They are also looking to integrate advanced AI, such as machine learning for adaptive decision-making, as this could also help MAVs better predict and react to dynamic obstacles, like moving crowds or vehicles. “In addition, we’re looking at scaling this technology for broader applications, such as coordinating fleets of drones for large-scale tasks such as environmental mapping,” said Professor Zhang. “Ultimately, the goal is to make MAVs more autonomous, reliable, and versatile, so they become standard tools for industries and emergency services worldwide.” a drone to move quickly and reliably through complex spaces, SUPER can make a difference.” The team expect there to be strong interest from industry. “Achieving a 100 per cent success rate in tough tests and dodging obstacles as thin as power lines – has definitely caught people’s attention,” he said. “SUPER’s ability to outperform commercial drones in cluttered environments and handle diverse conditions makes it appealing for industries like logistics, as well as defence and emergency services. “We’re focussed on the research side, but the potential for realworld impact is clear, and I’d expect companies in these sectors to be very interested in how SUPER’s technology could enhance their operations.” Asked how he became involved in MAVs, Professor Zhang said: “I’ve always been fascinated by robotics and how we can push machines “This gives it two big advantages: first, it can move fast to reach destinations quickly, which is critical for things like disaster response. Second, it stays safe by using a smart planning system that always has a backup path to avoid collisions.” Lead author on the paper, which has been published by Science Robotics, is Dr Yunfan Ren, who commented: “SUPER is perfectly suited to achieving such dexterity partly because it is small – about 35 centimetres wide – and because it is equipped with a lightweight 3D light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor that acts like its eyes, spotting obstacles up to 70 metres away with pinpoint accuracy.” “Think of it as the drone constantly scanning its surroundings to build a 3D map,” said Professor Zhang. “It plans two paths every tenth of a second: a fast one that assumes unknown areas are safe to maximise speed, and a backup path that sticks to spaces it knows are obstaclefree to ensure safety. If something unexpected pops up, it switches to the safe path.” The breakthrough came from two innovations. First, the research team developed a new way to process LiDAR data directly, with what is called a point cloud map, which is 10 times faster than older methods because it is able to skip bulky computations. Second, they created a method called CIRI – configuration-space iterative regional inflation – that efficiently maps out safe regions while accounting for the drone’s size. “These let SUPER plan quickly and fly safely at high speeds, even in cluttered places like forests or at night,” said Professor Zhang. Fast and safe Game-changer SUPER’s ability to outperform commercial drones in cluttered environments and handle diverse conditions makes it appealing for industries like logistics, as well as defence and emergency services. Professor Fu Zhang “A combination of speed and safety is a game-changer because it makes drones practical for missions where every second counts, and it moves them from laboratory experiments to realworld tools,” said Professor Fu Zhang, who is Associate Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Director of the University’s Mechatronics and Robotic Systems Laboratory. He and his team have pioneered research into Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs), integrating advanced sensing, planning and control to create systems like the safetyassured high-speed aerial robot (SUPER), which Professor Zhang described as the culmination of years of tackling tough engineering problems to make drones more capable and reliable. “Birds are incredible navigators,” he explained. “They zip through dense forests or crowded spaces at high speeds with almost no mistakes. We drew inspiration from that for SUPER because it’s exactly what we need for drones. By mimicking bird-like agility, SUPER can fly at speeds up to 20 metres per second – about 45 miles per hour – while dodging obstacles like trees or even wires just 2.5 millimetres thin.” Engineers have developed a drone capable of emulating bird flight – making it fast, safe and particularly suitable for situations where urgency is crucial. HKU Bulletin | Nov 2025 Research 14 15
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