Giuseppe Loianno, UC Berkeley Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Associate Professor, presented The Future of Autonomous Mobility: Agile and Collaborative Robot Autonomy at the Institute of Transportation Studies Transportation Seminar on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Abstract: Autonomous mobile robots are poised to transform future transportation systems by addressing a range of time sensitive and safety critical tasks. Beyond their traditional roles in logistics, search and rescue, and monitoring, robots, particularly aerial and ground systems, will be central to reshaping how goods and services move in remote areas or dense urban environments. In future smart cities, aerial and ground robots will integrate into multimodal transportation networks, enabling timely delivery of critical items such as medical supplies, consumer goods, and infrastructure components. To operate effectively in these complex settings, robots must demonstrate agile maneuvering, robust adaptation to dynamic navigation conditions, and seamless collaboration across agents and humans. In this talk, I will present ongoing research at the Agile Robotics and Perception Lab, focusing on the development of agile and collaborative machines that will shape the future of autonomous mobility. I will emphasize how integrating learning-based and model-driven approaches enables agility, rapid adaptation, and scalable solutions for multi-agent collaboration. These advances point toward the future of autonomous mobility, where fleets of small, resilient robots will enhance transportation, delivery, and infrastructure services in both remote areas and dense urban environments.
Bio: Giuseppe Loianno is an associate professor at the UC Berkeley, USA and director of the Agile Robotics and Perception Lab (https://arplaboratory.github.io/) working on autonomous robots. He received a Ph.D. in robotics from University of Naples ”Federico II”, Italy in 2014. Prior joining UC Berkeley he was an associate professor at NYU and prior to that he was post-doctoral researcher, research scientist and team leader at the GRASP Lab at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA. Dr. Loianno has published more than 70 conference papers, journal papers, and book chapters. His research interests include perception, learning, and control for autonomous robots. He received the NSF CAREER Award in 2022 and DARPA Young Faculty Award in 2022. He is recipient of the IROS Toshio Fukuda Young Professional Award in 2022, Conference Editorial Board Best Associate Editor Award at ICRA 2022, Best Reviewer Award at ICRA 2016, and he was selected as Rising Star in AI from KAUST in 2023. He is also currently the co-chair of the IEEE RAS Technical Committee on Aerial Robotics and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. He was the the general chair of the IEEE International Symposium on Safety, Security and Rescue Robotics (SSRR) in 2021 as well as program chair in 2019, 2020, and 2022. His work has been featured in a large number of renowned international news and magazines.