Article
Photograph: Kamil Bochenek, AGH University Krakow Student Photo Agency
AVADER, an AGH University student research club based at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Automatics, Computer Science, and Biomedical Engineering, is one of the winners in the sixth edition of the ministerial programme supporting innovations by students. Their project called AEROSENSE entails the development of software for two drones to inspect aquatic and terrestrial environments.
The main objective of the student engineers is to test water using a drone. Every step happens autonomously: the drone flies to a body of water, takes a sample, and analyses it. The physicochemical results are then sent to a server. However, the overarching goal of the project is to simplify the water testing process and allow easier access to this type of tests.
“The idea was inspired by the annual Droniada drone competition, as we are planning to participate in the Hydrolab challenge,” points out Remigiusz Mietła, a student of Automatic Control and Robotics part of AVADER. “The project is going to take a year or so. We are going to build a platform which we will later use to verify our assumptions. One thing is to build a drone, another is to develop an algorithm.”
The most demanding task will be for the team to move from simulations to reality.
“Sometimes everything works well in simulations, but once it enters real life, it turns out that due to sunlight the camera suddenly captures the image differently and a number of things become complicated, such as the communication with the drone. Then we have to implement adequate corrections in the code or change the sensors,” said Kamil Jędrzejko, a member of AVADER.
In may seem that the work of AVADER overlaps with that of AGH Drone Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics. Yet, the cores of the clubs’ activities differ, as AVADER focuses on the development of software and the latter specialises in the construction of drones.
The biggest chunk of AVADER’s activity is the software, thus the club members often participate exclusively in the simulation category in competitions. Some of the team’s greatest achievements is the participation in the UAV competition at the International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS). Our students have already participated in the competition twice. The 2025 final took place in the USA, and the AGH University students came in fourth. The competition task is to create software and only at the final do the participants use equipment, which is provided by the organisers. The software must be then uploaded for the drones to fly according to the participants’ instructions. This year, our students entered the ICUAS UAV competition once again, taking the first position in the first, qualifiers stage. The final will take place in June on Korfu, Greece.
“Importantly, our design allows us to fit the drone with various sensors for environmental monitoring, such as a thermal imaging camera or hydrological sensors. In this way, with data fusion, we can study both the aquatic and terrestrial environments. We can also use LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors that are found in cars. There are a few types of such distance sensors: 1D, which measures distance in a straight line; 2D, which is a sensor that rotates and measures distance in a circle; 3D, which measures the entire 3D space and then allows the data to be visualised in a suitable programme. The data can then be processed and a room can be mapped, meaning visualised in a computer programme,” said Kamil Jędrzejko.
The project will be modular. On the one hand, the drone will be used for water sampling. It will be able to lift one litre of water and will have various sensors on board to determine properties such as electrical conductivity, temperature, salinity, and water clarity. The entire mission will be carried out autonomously: the drone will collect water using a pump and direct it to the sensors, then return with the sample and land at a designated location. After landing, the operator will come and take the container with the sample. There are two possible scenarios: the sample will be analysed once again, or the data collected will be sent directly to the server. Then, we will be able to replace the sensors and install LiDAR or thermal imaging camera sensors, adapting the drone to tests on land,” explains Remigiusz Mietła.
An additional functionality the constructors would like to implement is landing on a moving platform, such as a moving car or a boat in motion.
AEROSENSE is developed by a team of eight students part of AVADER. The club’s supervisors are Dr Tomasz Kryjak, Hubert Szolc, and Mateusz Wąsala.
Visualisation of the drone. Source: AVADER
AVADER at a competition in Gliwice. Photograph: AVADER
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