Center for Applied Drone Research

Advancing the Future of Multi-Drone Systems & Digital Twin Technologies

Background image: Drone at UC Berkeley
Image credit:
UC Berkeley

Resilient infrastructure, emergency response, environmental monitoring, and next-gen autonomy

The Center for Applied Drone Research (CADR) advances next-generation drone systems by integrating artificial intelligence, digital twins, sensing, manufacturing, and infrastructure into deployable, real-world solutions.

Research

We advance the science of multi-drone systems, digital twins, sensing, AI simulation, and next-generation manufacturing.

Education

We prepare students and organizations through hands-on flight training and advanced technical courses in drone technologies.

Technology

We design and build scalable drone hardware, software, and sensing systems, from modular airframes to multi-drone swarm platforms.

Infrastructure

We build and operate specialized labs and testbeds that enable testing, validation, and deployment of drone technologies.

Digital Twin & Simulation Systems

We develop advanced AI and simulation tools that model, optimize, and coordinate multi-drone operations at scale.

Multi-Drone Sensing & Swarm Technologies

We design modular drones and collaborative fleets equipped with hyperspectral, LiDAR, and advanced sensing capabilities.

Infrastructure Inspection & Asset Digitization

We create end-to-end systems that map, monitor, and digitize large physical assets for industry, government, and research applications.

Key Application Areas

We deploy multi-drone systems to support high-impact societal needs, including:

  • Emergency response & rapid assessment during earthquakes, floods, and storms

  • Wildfire detection & situational awareness through advanced multispectral sensing

  • Environmental and ecological monitoring for forests, water systems, and habitats

  • Infrastructure inspection & resilience across bridges, dams, and utilities

  • Agricultural insight & land stewardship for sustainable food and resource management

From Research to Deployment

Communities and organizations face growing pressures from shifting environmental conditions, aging infrastructure, and increasingly frequent large-scale events. Drone systems offer rapid, safe access to high-quality data, improving situational awareness, supporting emergency response, and giving decision-makers the timely insights they need to act effectively, confidently, and with greater coordination across teams and agencies.

At the same time, public agencies and industry partners require better tools to monitor and manage the assets they depend on every day. Multi-drone sensing and digital-twin technologies enable proactive maintenance, faster assessments, and more informed long-term planning, helping communities strengthen resilience, protect critical infrastructure, and allocate resources with greater precision, clarity, and consistency while reducing risk and improving overall operational readiness.

Built on Proven Expertise

CADR draws on more than 25 years of continuous federal, state, and industrial research, with over $600 million in collaborative funding across aerospace, robotics, infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, and government partners. Our team brings deep expertise across software, hardware, and infrastructure, allowing CADR to move seamlessly from research to deployment.

Interested in partnering, sponsoring research, or deploying drone systems?

Contact the Center for Applied Drone Research