Scope
Flying opens new opportunities to robotically perform services and tasks like search and rescue, observation, mapping or even inspection and maintenance. As such, substantial interest in aerial robots has grown in recent years. Key areas to be addressed include innovative Unmanned Aerial Vehicles design, autonomous missions, guidance, navigation and control, and multi-vehicle coordination.

Objective:
The technical committee will promote exchanges among researchers from academia, industry and government. The purpose is to identify the technologies and technical approaches to advance and mature the field of aerial robotics. Exchanges include conferences, workshops, special sessions in conferences and publications to promote discussion on technical and applicative problems. Envisioned will be on-line and printed resources to disseminate knowledge including cross-disciplinary information like aerodynamics, propulsion, communications, controls and sensors.

Topics of Interest:
Include but not limited to:
Airframe design
UAS autonomy: perception, planning and control
UAS Guidance, Navigation and Control
Sense and Avoid
Human-computer interfaces
Propulsion and Engines
Aerial vehicle teams
Aerial manipulation
UAS integration in non-segregated airspaces
Aerial Robotics and UAV applications

Interest groups:
Unmanned aerial systems (IG1)
This interest group emphasizes unmanned aerial vehicles from large platforms until small vehicles and a large variety of systems and applications
Aerial Robotic Systems physically interacting with the environment (IG2)
This interest group focalizes on the methods and technologies required for the development of aerial robots physically interacting with objects and with other aerial vehicles. Aerial robotic manipulation is a main subject in this interest group
Perception based aerial robotics (IG3)
The interest group focuses on aerial robots with onboard intelligence and perception that allows the positioning, simultaneous localization and mapping, navigation, object recognition and tracking with limited power and computational capabilities.

Future directions:
- Next generation designs to increase flight endurance and safety in the interaction with people, as well as hybrid aerial-ground locomotion robots
- Dextereous Aerial Robotic Manipulation by including Multi UAV aerial manipulation
- Very agile and fast aerial robots, and large teams of robots, based on environment perception with limited computation and power capabilities