History

The Center for Automation and Robotics (CAR) represents a prominent scientific alliance between the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), dedicated to research and development in the fields of robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence.

Origin and fundation

The origins of CAR date back to the 1970s, when both the Institute of Industrial Automation (IAI) of the CSIC and researchers from the Systems and Automation Engineering Department of the UPM began pioneering activities in the field of robotics in Spain. These groups laid the foundation for automation and robotic systems research in the country.

The official creation of the Center for Automation and Robotics took place in November 2009 through an agreement signed by Rafael Rodrigo Montero, then President of CSIC, and Javier Uceda Antolín, Rector of UPM, with the supervision of the Secretary of State for Research, Carlos Martínez Alonso. This agreement formalized decades of prior collaboration and established a research entity with complementary capabilities.

Institutional Evolution

Throughout its history, CAR has implemented an organizational structure based on specialized research Units and Groups. This organization has allowed it to address different aspects of robotics and automation from complementary perspectives, fostering both specialization and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Intelligent Robotics Unit

• • Robots y Máquinas Inteligentes
  • Field and Service Robotics

Applied Robotics Unit

• • Robotics and Cybernetics
  • AUTOPIA - Automated and Connected Driving
  • Cognitive and Neural Engineering

Supervision and Control Unit

• • Intelligent Control
  • Advanced Automation of Machines, Highly Complex Processes and Environments
  • Computational Modelling of Intelligence

Perception Unit

• • Computer Vision and Aerial Robotics
  • Artificial Percection
  • Localisation and Exploration of Intelligent Systems
  • Autonomous Systems

Actual Structure

In 2024, under new management and with the support of the Scientific Senate, the Center carried out a structural reorganization aimed at optimizing resources and improving coordination between research groups, thus adapting to new scientific and technological challenges. The Center's scientific activity is currently articulated through the current structure, which integrates specialized groups in areas such as field robotics, autonomous driving, intelligent control, artificial perception and localization systems, among other disciplines fundamental to the advancement of robotics and automation. With this structure, the CAR continues its mission of promoting research in automation and robotics, contributing to scientific and technological advancement both nationally and internationally.

Car actually has three locations:

• The main CSIC headquarters in Arganda del Rey, which houses specialized laboratories and experimental areas.
• The facilities at the UPM School of Industrial Engineering, located in the Palace of Arts and Industry, which include the CAR Robotics Arena.
• A Laboratory in the School of Industrial Engineering and Design of UPM.

This strategic layout facilitates collaboration with various university departments and research organizations, as well as access to complementary infrastructure.

Directors

Deputy Directors

"From a pioneering past to an innovative future: the CAR continues to write the history of Spanish robotics, page by page, algorithm by algorithm."