Developed by professors Nicholas Roy and Jonathan How for AeroAstro undergraduates, the course pushes students to design complete software architectures for autonomous drones from scratch. In doing so, students confront a persistent industry problem: creating fault-tolerant systems capable of sensing, planning, and navigating in unpredictable environments.
Flying an autonomous vehicle on Mars represents one of engineering’s most demanding challenges. Operating millions of miles from Earth, such a spacecraft must navigate unfamiliar terrain, avoid obstacles, and make rapid decisions without human intervention. Achieving this capability requires a sophisticated combination of perception, planning, and control systems that are inherently fault-tolerant, allowing the vehicle to recover from unexpected errors.
According to Professor Nicholas Roy, the challenge of building truly robust autonomous systems remains unresolved in both industry and research. Reliable autonomy requires integrating numerous software and hardware components into a single system capable of operating safely in uncertain conditions.
In response to this challenge, Roy and Professor How developed 16.85 as a capstone experience for AeroAstro students. The course builds on concepts from 16.405 (Robotics: Science and Systems), which introduces autonomous navigation using ground vehicles. In 16.85, students extend those ideas to flight.
Students begin with a basic quadrotor drone and an entirely blank software framework. Their task is to design and implement a full navigation system and then test it on an obstacle course featuring uncertain terrain and unreliable landing pads. The goal is to give students hands-on experience integrating sensing, planning, and control components while coordinating multiple software and hardware elements to build systems capable of operating in unpredictable environments.
The systems developed in the course reflect the growing range of applications for autonomous vehicles, including extraterrestrial exploration, hazardous environment inspection on Earth, urban air mobility, and reusable launch vehicles.
The Mission and the Challenge of Collaboration
For the semester’s project, students were asked to imagine their drone as an extraterrestrial explorer tasked with mapping an unknown environment, identifying objects of interest, and executing a safe landing on uneven terrain.
Professor Roy notes that the mission’s complexity is intentional. It mirrors the multifaceted challenges engineers face in the aerospace industry today. However, this level of complexity introduces another major challenge: coordination.
The class was divided into teams of seven, named the SLAMdunkers and the Spelunkers, reflecting the collaborative structure of real-world engineering teams.
Graduate teaching assistant Andrew Fishberg explains that many of the hardest problems in modern engineering are coordination problems. A team of this size functions much like a heterogeneous swarm, where individuals bring different skills and must manage their contributions collectively.
The course therefore requires students to apply systems thinking not only to their software architecture but also to their teamwork. Fishberg emphasizes that communication, often viewed as overhead, is essential to prevent large groups from fragmenting into isolated efforts. For students, learning to manage these interpersonal dynamics becomes just as important as writing reliable code.
The lesson is clear in that successful engineering missions depend on cohesive teams, not just a collection of talented individuals.
Building Confidence Through Real-World Application
Beyond technical and collaborative skills, 16.85 also aims to develop confidence.
Students move through the entire engineering lifecycle, beginning with a blank design and culminating in real flight tests on quadrotor platforms in the AeroAstro high bay. This hands-on process allows them to see the direct consequences of their design choices, turning abstract concepts into tangible results.
Professor How notes the unique perspective of watching students he once taught differential equations now implement their own autonomous flight software. The course allows instructors and teaching staff to observe how students apply earlier coursework to real autonomous systems during testing and flight demonstrations.
In many ways, the course serves as a culminating experience where years of foundational learning come together in practical application. After weeks of building, testing, and refinement, the results reflected the ambition of the course.
We gave them a pretty challenging mission… hardware that should be capable… but not guaranteed. And the students have put in a tremendous amount of effort and have really risen to the challenge.
Professor Nicholas Roy, MIT
Working through genuine technical uncertainty, where success is never guaranteed, is what ultimately builds the lasting engineering confidence the course aims to cultivate.
Senior Norah Miller said the course gave her experience developing autonomous flight software from the ground up and provided insight into how full autonomous missions are designed, tested, and validated.
Conclusion
MIT’s 16.85 course offers a model for educating the next generation of aerospace engineers.
By asking students to build autonomous flight systems from scratch, the course moves beyond traditional classroom instruction and exposes students to the collaborative and technically demanding realities of modern engineering practice.
It connects foundational robotics principles with the complex task of integrating perception, planning, and control systems that must operate reliably in uncertain environments. Students leave not only with functioning software but with a deeper understanding of systems thinking, the importance of team coordination, and the confidence to tackle problems where success is not guaranteed.
As autonomous vehicles continue expanding into areas such as planetary exploration, hazardous environment inspection, and advanced air mobility, engineers equipped with this resilient, hands-on mindset will play an increasingly important role in shaping the future of aerospace.
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author expressed in their private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.