In this episode, Margarita Chli, Swiss National Science Professor in Computer Vision for Robotics at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, spoke to Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, about improving drone vision and building autonomous drones and their use cases in Insurance.

Specifically, here is what they covered:

How did Margarita become a professor at ETH in Zurich in drones and robots' vision? See Margarita's profile at ETH website.
Many people talk about self-driving cars, but less attention is paid to autonomous drones. What are the use cases for intelligent drones that can fly by themselves, and what are their challenges vs. self-driving cars?
The critical focus of Margarita's research is improving the vision of drones and robots. So what technology are we talking about? How does it compare to mainstream hobby drones like DJI?
Many people are concerned with safety and privacy when it comes to drones. Yet, Margarita is helping drones to see even better! So, how would Margarita alleviate these concerns?
Insurance companies in many countries have already eliminated many claims adjustor roles – they use humans to survey the damage, but data is sent to HQ for assessment and processing. With autonomous drones, can these roles be replaced too? For example, the staff in HQ can use drones for a survey and then use the pictures or videos for the assessment?
What are the differences between using drones for surveying damage indoors (say, a building near collapse) and a substantial flooded area? Do you need a different drone size? Undoubtedly, but what about its navigation abilities?
What about urban use (e.g., for assessing car accidents) – would you be comfortable using autonomous drones there
How does one deal with challenges like battery life or accidents when the drone works independently?
Further resources: Margarita's TEDx Talk on Computer Vision. You can also subscribe to the Vision for Robotics Youtube channel.
The best way to reach out - e-mail: chlim@ethz.ch