Design Optimization and Field Testing of Morphing Robots in Japan

My research focused on the design, optimization, and real-world testing of G.O.A.T. (Good On All Terrain), a novel morphing robot developed for exploration in the most extreme environments such as volcanic terrains and polar regions. The aim is to create a lightweight, low-cost, modular, and reconfigurable robot capable of adapting its geometry in real time to navigate unpredictable landscapes. With a flexible fiberglass frame and actuated winches, G.O.A.T. can shift between multiple configurations (driving, ball, flight) without the need for human intervention. Ultimately, the objective is to navigate through any environment – on land, in water, or through the air.

Over the summer, I developed a new prototype integrating first-person view (FPV) teleoperation and communications, and improved the overall mechanics of the robot. We evaluated different configurations and components in both the French Jura and volcanic terrain around Mount Asama, near Karuizawa, Japan. This culminated in a successful drone-deployed mission simulation in collaboration with scientists from the University of Tokyo, where the robot was air-dropped and navigated across rocky slopes, while I controlled it remotely using FPV.

G.O.A.T. could revolutionize data collection in remote or hazardous areas, including volcanic, mountainous, and polar regions. It offers a powerful platform for scientists, thanks to its low cost, modularity, and ease of repair. It overcomes the limitations of current technologies (such as short drone autonomy or the weight and complexity of conventional rovers) by being drone-portable, energy-efficient, and highly adaptive. Its low weight and robustness make it ideal for being dropped into restricted or dangerous zones where human presence is impossible.

The potential societal impact lies in improving our ability to monitor and respond to natural disasters, especially in harsh regions, while providing simple, sustainable, and autonomous field robots. Future missions planned in the Himalayas will further explore G.O.A.T.’s capabilities in extreme temperatures.

I have always loved seeing how technology – and often simple principles – can help us solve real-world problems. Robotics, at the intersection of mechanics, electronics, and computer science, offers a vast playground for creativity and innovation.

But the approach in academia is not always the right one. Some push for innovation without first considering if there are any real-world applications, losing time and energy on solutions that might never be used. Research should work the other way around: serving society in the first place rather than pushing for the sake of doing difficult things.

During my mechanical engineering studies, I began searching for a deeper sense of purpose beyond the simple thrill of building and the fascination with what we can create and how we use science to our benefits. I realized that while technology is powerful, it alone won’t solve some of our most daring, systemic issues. This led me to reflect more deeply on the role of engineers in society – not just as problem solvers, but as responsible actors in the face of these challenges.

This summer gave me a renewed sense of hope. It offered me a concrete example of how technology, when used wisely, could empower scientists and responders in disaster-prone or remote areas – and ultimately benefit society, without creating more problems than it solves.

This research journey helped me reconnect with the values that first drew me to engineering: curiosity, creativity, and the desire to contribute meaningfully to the world around me.

How have you applied your leadership skills in real life? What are some insights & lessons from your experience?

I first assumed leadership positions by becoming project manager of a group of 4 friends, as we took part in and successfully won the first edition of the EPFL Xplore Rover Challenge (XRC). Throughout this one-year experience, I grew immensely – both professionally and personally – learning how to overcome the inevitable challenges of working on technical demanding projects together. While we encountered some, for us, unprecedented hard times – where we had to push full-time on the project for multiple weeks in a row, barely sleeping enough at night when not in the few hours we spent in lectures while maintaining our full curriculum on the side – we reinforced our friendship as never before. The first lesson I learned is that you better think twice before choosing your partners, be it for such a project as this, or when launching a startup. You need to have full confidence in your teammates and share the same goals and standards. At least 3 teams taking part in XRC had to give up, not because they didn’t have the technical abilities, but because they were simply incompatible when things got dirty, and their true nature was revealed. Working with friends can be double-edged: it’s either an amazing experience and you bound even more, or it’s a disaster and your friendship barely survives. In connection to that the second most important point is that communication and a respectful, non-judgmental group atmosphere are key elements of success. Without them, both technical and personal issues build up and explode at the worst possible moments…

More recently, my experience as Vice president of The Sustainable Innovation Challenge, a new student-led challenge and conference at EPFL about sustainability bringing together students, research and industry, showed me that purpose and audacity, when combined with pushing boundaries and aiming for impact, can make the impossible become reality. In less than 6 months, we went from brainstorming on a piece of paper, to assembling a team of around twenty students, reaching out to the sustainability hubs of all major technical universities across Europe, as well as to over a hundred student teams, companies, laboratories, and institutions, recruiting mentors and a jury for the selected teams and spreading the word across Switzerland and Europe. Once again, the hard work paid off. In total, more than 45 teams took part in the pre-selection phase, and 12 were chosen to present their prototypes at EPFL, sharing a prize pool of CHF 30,000. We hosted 14 seminars, welcomed 20 companies and institutions, and organized eight workshops. The single most important factor in this success was the people and the goal: a team that know what it works for and why, with the additional benefit of launching something big with the potential to impact many students for years to come.

These two projects showed me that, above all, the key factor in the success of any project is the mindset and spirit within the team. A project is, first and foremost, its people, so if you want your project to work you better gather ambitious people around the cause.

Being a Laidlaw Scholar means, for me, meeting ambitious and driven people who venture into the wilderness of life to create good around them. If I could keep only one thing from this adventure, it would without a doubt be the friendships made during that time and the good moments we had together. 

Which particular leaders inspire you the most and why?

No particular leader truly inspires me. Instead, I find inspiration in fragments, from many different places. The people who inspire me the most are my friends and close ones - those I grow alongside, and who, despite the difficulties of life, never lose hope. I learn immensely from their perspectives and life goals - far more than I ever could from an unknown stranger who happens to achieve great things, no matter how impressive and impactful they may be.

We are just around the half the century, climate change has impacted us more than ever, with millions of people already displaced and new wars spreading. Part of our generation has finally waken up and the world has, forced by the consequences, stopped ignoring the effects of years of laisser-faire. Europe has learned from it past mistakes and the old continet has invested in key sectors, becoming a land of promise. The world has never been as polarized but despited the constant risk of escalation, facing a common enemy that we summoned ourselves, we union our forces to prevent the end of our civilisation.

Bringing a close friend I met during our Laidlaw program at EPFL to my grandma’s place in the French Jura.