Professor Robert Mahony is a research pioneer with global impact in aerial robotics. He developed the original control architectures for quadrotor aerial vehicles that are now industry standard, as well as building the first such vehicles in Australia. His seminal work in state estimation led to the creation of the ‘Mahony filter’ – an enabling technology for today’s multibillion-dollar commercial drone industry. His ongoing research in state estimation has driven the most significant advances in modern Inertial Navigation Systems in over half a century. He also contributed heavily to vision-based control of aerial systems and his work is used in many of the automated landing systems present in unmanned aerial vehicles.

Mahony has contributed across the whole range from advanced control systems theory to real-world practical robotics, influencing the way engineers and scientists design autonomous systems and sensing technology today.

Professor Robert Mahony is a global leader in aerial robotics, pioneering quadrotor aerial vehicles. He developed the original models and control architectures that are now industry standard as well as building the first such vehicles in Australia. His seminal work led to the creation of the “Mahony filter,” the first practical attitude estimation algorithm for these systems and an enabling technology for today’s multi-billion-dollar commercial drone industry. His contributions to vision-based control for aerial systems have also had a profound commercial impact. A champion of applying symmetry and geometry to systems and control he enabled a new era of real-world robotics applications. His ongoing research in state estimation has driven the most significant advances in modern Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) in over half a century. His visionary leadership and groundbreaking contributions helped shape the present-day commercial drone sector, leaving a lasting impact on both academia and industry.