Collaborative Aerial–Bus Systems (CABS) combines an electric Multi-Purpose Vehicle with autonomous drones. By uniting ground and aerial robots, CABS reduces traffic congestion, CO₂ emissions and labor requirements, and enables new services such as solar panel cleaning and wind turbine inspection.

Technological Innovation

CABS integrates multi‑agent route planning, real‑time sensor fusion and a cloud‑based digital twin to coordinate drones and an electric MPV. Key breakthroughs include an on‑roof docking station that enables in‑motion drone landing and inductive recharging, plus a hierarchical control architecture that combines local safe‑state autonomy with shared high‑level planning. All core algorithms and APIs will be released open‑source to accelerate adoption.

Societal & Environmental Impact

By shifting parcel drop‑offs and infrastructure checks from congested streets to the air, CABS can cut urban van kilometres, lowering CO₂, noise and particulate emissions. The same platform automates solar‑farm cleaning and wind‑turbine blade inspection, safeguarding renewable‑energy output while reducing risky manual work. A small pilot will generate real‑world impact metrics and build regulatory and citizen trust.

Implementation & Scalability

Modular hardware, standardised drone‑charging ports and open interfaces ensure the design can migrate to larger electric buses or other service vehicles. Business models for logistics, public transport and renewable‑asset owners will be validated, laying the foundation for national and international roll‑outs after the project.