The Center for Advanced Drone Research accelerates innovation in multi-drone systems, digital twins, and advanced sensing technologies through world-class research, education, and industry collaboration.
The Center for Applied Drone Research
The Center for Applied Drone Research (CADR) is a multidisciplinary research center focused on the development, testing, and deployment of advanced drone systems. Based at UC Berkeley, CADR integrates artificial intelligence, digital twins, sensing, manufacturing, and infrastructure to enable scalable, real-world drone operations.
CADR supports research, education, and applied deployment across academic, public-sector, and industry partnerships, with an emphasis on systems that can be validated, operated, and scaled beyond the laboratory.
CADR develops end-to-end drone ecosystems that extend beyond individual platforms. Our work spans multi-drone coordination, high-fidelity digital twins, advanced sensing, flight dynamics and controls, and manufacturing-aware design. These capabilities are coupled with dedicated testbeds and infrastructure that enable repeatable experimentation and field validation.
Through research, education, and technology development, CADR supports the full lifecycle of modern drone systems, from simulation and design to deployment and operation.
CADR builds 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 agencies.
This foundation enables CADR to engage effectively with academic, public-sector, and industry partners, delivering applied drone systems that are technically rigorous, operationally grounded, and scalable.
Experience & Partnerships
The Center builds on more than 25 years of continuous federal, state, and industrial research activity, with over $600 million in collaborative funding across aerospace, robotics, manufacturing, infrastructure, energy, and government agencies.
This experience allows CADR to engage effectively with public agencies, industry partners, and research institutions on both exploratory research and applied deployment efforts.