Building Switzerland’s Research Infrastructure for Autonomous Systems
CAI and ZAV are leading TESTAIR, an initiative for a new national research infrastructure designed to test and validate autonomous systems such as drones and robots in real-world environments.
Autonomous systems and AI-based robots are developing rapidly and will increasingly operate in public spaces and as part of civil society. Transforming them into safe and dependable real-world tools requires a new way of doing science: rigorous system-level testing across diverse environments, the integration of hardware, software, and human supervision, alignment with regulatory frameworks, and the generation of robust, reproducible evidence under realistic conditions.
With TESTAIR, we propose a coordinated network of testing sites across Switzerland bridging air, water and land applications, from indoor laboratories to airfields, large outdoor fly zones and water-based platforms, where autonomous systems can be developed, tested, and validated throughout their lifecycle.
The initiative grew out of DIZH structure LINA. Building on this foundation, TESTAIR now brings together internationally recognised scientists including Prof. Davide Scaramuzza (UZH), Prof. Mirko Kovač (Empa/EPFL), Prof. Thilo Stadelmann (ZHAW), and Prof. Michel Guillaume (ZHAW), along with an extended team of researchers from ZHAW, UZH, ETH Zürich, and SUPSI, as well as partners from industry and the public sector. The infrastructure is coordinated by Dr. Hella Bolck (ZHAW), who previously managed the LINA initiative.
TESTAIR successfully passed the first evaluation stages of the Swiss Roadmap for Research Infrastructures in 2025 and submitted its full proposal to the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) in January 2026, aiming to become one of Switzerland’s future National Research Infrastructures recognized by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).
Strong ecosystem engagement underscores the initiative: 43 Letters of Support have been received from stakeholders across Switzerland’s research, industry, and public sectors, demonstrating both the scientific relevance of TESTAIR and the clear demand for a shared national infrastructure.
TESTAIR aims to ensure that Switzerland remains a place where cutting-edge research in robotics and AI can thrive and translate into real-world innovation.