Fernando Vanegas Alvarez

Dr. Fernando Vanegas Alvarez is a Lecturer at the School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). He holds a M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Halmstad University and a PhD in Aerial Robotics from QUT. His research focuses on Drone Autonomy, UAV navigation in GNSS-denied environments, and AI-assisted remote sensing.

Education:

• M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, Halmstad University
• PhD in Aerial Robotics, QUT

Research Interests: Dr. Vanegas' work emphasizes motion planning for UAV exploration, POMDP, SLAM, Visual Odometry, and AI-driven remote sensing applications. His projects include UAV frameworks for planetary exploration, invasive species mapping, and multi-UAV coordination in challenging environments.

Scientific Awards:

• Advanced Queensland Industry Research Fellowship Grant (2024)

Supervision & Grants: Dr. Vanegas has supervised three postgraduate students, including topics like planetary exploration UAV systems and multi-agent UAV search algorithms. He actively accepts new students for Honours, Masters, and PhD programs. His research is supported by grants and collaborations with the QUT Centre for Robotics.

Teams & Affiliations: He is a core member of the QUT Centre for Robotics and contributes to the School of Electrical Engineering & Robotics. His work bridges robotics, AI, and environmental science.