Lehigh University · Robotics Laboratory
We develop cooperative aerial robots that assemble, manipulate, and work together. Exploring what becomes possible when robots act as a swarm.
Robots working together
01 / ModQuad & H-ModQuad
Flying modules that self-assemble and adapt their shape and capabilities to the task.
02 / The Catenary Robot
Teams of aerial robots that carry, grasp, and manipulate through physical interaction.
03 / Coordination at scale
Reliable coordination even when individual robots fail or share incorrect information.
Around the lab
Resolve features David Saldaña and Cristian-Ioan Vasile’s NSF CAREER research. Saldaña’s project combines adaptive control and reinforcement learning to help aerial robots manipulate flexible objects such as cables, rods, hoses, and sheets.
Read the story ↗
David Saldaña joins NSF’s Discovery Files podcast to discuss resilient and adaptive aerial robots and how they can collaborate with people and other robots.
Read the story ↗
PI David Saldaña receives the NSF CAREER Award to advance aerial robotics capable of manipulating flexible objects and adapting to shifting forces in midair.
Read the story ↗Research in print
Jiawei Xu, Subhrajit Bhattacharya, David Saldaña
2026 American Control Conference (ACC)
@inproceedings{xu2026ellipsoids,
title={From Ellipsoids to Midair Control of Dynamic Hitches},
author={Xu, Jiawei and Bhattacharya, Subhrajit and Saldaña, David},
booktitle={2026 American Control Conference (ACC)},
year={2026},
url={https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.08116}
}
Diego S. D'Antonio, Tongshu Wu, Subhrajit Bhattacharya, David Saldaña
IEEE Transactions on Robotics
@article{2026-from-hitch-to-lift-autonomous-cable-interlacing-by-multi-uav-teams-for-aerial-grasping-and-transportation,
title = {From Hitch to Lift: Autonomous Cable Interlacing by Multi-UAV Teams for Aerial Grasping and Transportation},
author = {Diego S. D'Antonio and Tongshu Wu and Subhrajit Bhattacharya and David Saldaña},
year = {2026},
journal = {IEEE Transactions on Robotics},
doi = {10.1109/tro.2026.3677011}
}
Tongshu Wu, Edward Lopez, Diego S. D'Antonio, David Saldaña
2026 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)
@inproceedings{wu2026tying,
title={Tying Knots in the Air: Reducing the Number of Quadrotors for Aerial Knot Formation},
author={Wu, Tongshu and Lopez, Edward and D'Antonio, Diego S. and Saldaña, David},
booktitle={2026 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)},
year={2026},
pages={9871--9878},
doi={10.1109/ICRA57385.2026.11697504}
}
Jiawei Xu, Longsen Gao, Rafael Fierro, David Saldaña
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
@article{2025-airbender-adaptive-transportation-of-bendable-objects-using-dual-uavs,
title = {AirBender: Adaptive Transportation of Bendable Objects Using Dual UAVs},
author = {Jiawei Xu and Longsen Gao and Rafael Fierro and David Saldaña},
year = {2025},
journal = {IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters},
pages = {2790-2797},
volume = {10},
number = {3},
doi = {10.1109/lra.2025.3536276},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1109/lra.2025.3536276}
}
Build. Fly. Collaborate.
The Lehigh Aerial Swarms Club brings students together to build autonomous robots, develop new skills, and take on the Defend the Republic competition.
Explore the club →