Student project topics offered by Filip Novák

Below, you will find a list of all currently available topics offered by Filip Novák.

Student must subscribe to a topic via the system: https://hub.fel.cvut.cz/topics/semestral_projects/all_topics_semestral

[CZ]: Témata jsou psána v angličtině, ale nebojte, všechna témata je možné vypsat i v češtině.

The task of this project is to investigate the problem of reliable state estimation for agile and high-speed UAV flights in environments where external localization systems (e.g., motion capture or GPS) are unavailable or unreliable. A key motivation for this work is drone racing, where UAVs must navigate complex tracks at high speed while relying only on onboard sensing - camera and IMU. The goal is to develop and evaluate algorithms capable of accurately estimating the UAV’s position, velocity, and orientation using onboard sensors during aggressive maneuvers. The work will build upon our state estimation framework developed for the A2RL Drone Racing Challenge 2025.
References
[1] F. Novak, M. Petrlik, M. Novosad, P. M. Gupta, R. Penicka, M. Saska, "Vision-only UAV State Estimation for Fast Flights Without External Localization Systems: A2RL Drone Racing Finalist Approach", arXiv preprint, 2026, https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2602.01860
[2] S. A. Bahnam, R. Ferede, T. M. Blaha, A. E. Lang, E. Lucassen, Q. Missinne, A. E.C. Verraest, C. De Wagter, G. C.H.E. de Croon, "MonoRace: Winning Champion-Level Drone Racing with Robust Monocular AI", arXiv preprint, 2026, https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.15222

This project focuses on the design and implementation of methods that enable a team of heterogeneous robots — an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) — to collaboratively manipulate an object on the water surface using tethers. The goal is to control the system such that the manipulated object follows a predefined trajectory on the water surface while both robots coordinate their motion despite their different dynamics and sensing capabilities.
References
[1] F. Novák, T. Báča and M. Saska. Collaborative Object Manipulation on the Water Surface by a UAV-USV Team Using Tethers. In 2024 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). 2024, 3425-3432.

This project focuses on the design and implementation of a Model Predictive Control (MPC) framework for an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV), i.e., an autonomous boat. The goal is to develop a controller that enables the USV to accurately follow a desired trajectory while respecting the system dynamics and operational constraints.