Multi-robot Intelligent Systems Technology Lab

Polytechnique Montréal · Autonomous Robotics

Robotics at
the Edge of
the Possible

The MIST Lab pushes the boundaries of autonomous robotics — from swarms of drones to lunar rovers, to caves and planetary surfaces — operating where infrastructure ends.

Open Source We release our research as open-source software. Explore our repos on GitHub. github.com/MISTLab →
3×
Faculty Professors
20+
Researchers & Students
100+
Publications

Where We Push
the Frontier

From autonomous swarms navigating caves to AI-powered field robots operating in extreme environments — our work drives the next generation of intelligent systems.

Robot Autonomy

Enabling robots to perceive, reason, and act in complex, GPS-denied environments with minimal human intervention.

Swarm Robotics

Coordinating dozens of robots to achieve collective intelligence — decentralized, resilient, and scalable beyond any single platform.

Field Robotics

Deploying systems in real-world hostile conditions: lava fields, underground caves, arctic terrain, and simulated planetary surfaces.

SW Engineering for Robotics

Building robust, reusable software architectures that make complex robot systems reliable and deployable at scale.

All Projects →
The Team

Faculty & Researchers

Giovanni Beltrame

Giovanni Beltrame

Full Professor

Leads research at the intersection of swarm intelligence, autonomous field robots, and space science — pushing robots into the most challenging environments on Earth and beyond.

people Swarm Intelligence Field Robotics Space Systems
Jana Pavlasek

Jana Pavlasek

Assistant Professor

Investigates uncertainty in robotics — how to represent it in perception and handle it in planning — combining probabilistic inference with modern machine learning.

people Uncertainty Probabilistic Inference Planning
Pierre-Yves Lajoie

Pierre-Yves Lajoie

Assistant Professor

Develops spatial AI and robot perception systems that let machines understand and navigate complex 3D environments, with a focus on swarm intelligence and distributed mapping.

people Spatial AI Collaborative SLAM Perception
MIST Lab Team

A World-Class Team

Researchers, engineers, and explorers united by a passion for pushing autonomous systems beyond their limits.

1
PhD Students
1
MSc Students
4
Postdocs & RAs
Full Team →
Field Missions

From the Lab
to the Edge of the World

ESA PANGAEA-X · Lanzarote
ESA PANGAEA-X · Lanzarote
Swarm Deployment · Field Test
Swarm Deployment · Field Test
Spot + UAV · Winter Operations
Spot + UAV · Winter Operations
BRAILLE · Ground Autonomy
BRAILLE · Ground Autonomy
UAS · Campus Deployment
UAS · Campus Deployment
ESA Analogue Mission · Planetary Surface
ESA Analogue Mission · Planetary Surface
MEXPÉ · SpéléoQC Cave Mission
MEXPÉ · SpéléoQC Cave Mission
Mission Control · IGLUNA
Mission Control · IGLUNA
ESA · PANGAEA-X ESA · IGLUNA NASA JPL · DARPA SubT NASA JPL · BRAILLE SpéléoQC · MEXPÉ CSA Prospecting Challenge
News

Latest from the Lab

New Unitree G1 Humanoid Joins the Lab's Robot Fleet
2026 04

New Unitree G1 Humanoid Joins the Lab's Robot Fleet

With the addition of a G1 humanoid robot, MIST Lab expands its research into legged locomotion and human-robot interaction.

→ Equipment
Spot + UAV Hybrid System Tested in Winter Conditions
2026 02

Spot + UAV Hybrid System Tested in Winter Conditions

New research integrating aerial and legged robots demonstrates robust autonomy in challenging winter environments.

→ Research
All News →
Education

Teaching

INF8422 · Graduate

Robot Perception and Spatial AI

Foundations of robotic perception, including sensor data processing, probabilistic inference, SLAM, 3D representations, uncertainty modeling, simulation, and perception for manipulation and multi-agent systems.

INF6805E · Graduate

Swarm Intelligence

Multi-agent consensus and collective decision-making. Optimization by swarm intelligence: ant colony optimization, particle swarm optimization.

INF3995 · Undergraduate

Projet de conception d'un syst. informatique

Core robotics concepts with hands-on lab projects using real hardware.

Courses & Prospective Students →

Come Build the
Future of Robotics

We're always looking for motivated PhD and MSc candidates passionate about autonomous systems, field robotics, and space applications. Funded positions available.

MIST Lab field mission
Spin-offs Companies founded by MIST Lab members

Uncharted AI

AI-powered field robotics for challenging environments — from caves to industrial inspection.

uncharted.ai →