Durham University scientists have unveiled a major advance in drone swarm technology that could transform the way unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are used in real-world missions.
Their newly developed system, known as T-STAR, allows swarms of drones to fly faster, safer, and with unprecedented coordination, even in highly complex and obstacle-filled environments.
Drone swarms have long been seen as the future of applications such as search and rescue operations, disaster response, forest fire monitoring, environmental exploration, and parcel delivery.
Yet until now, drones working in groups have struggled to combine speed with safety.
When navigating unpredictable surroundings, traditional systems often force drones to slow down drastically or risk collisions, limiting their effectiveness in urgent or large-scale missions.
The T-STAR system tackles these challenges by enabling drones to communicate and share information in real time, the system allows each drone to adjust its path instantly in response to changing conditions or the movements of nearby drones.
This prevents collisions, keeps formations intact, and ensures the swarm continues towards its goal with minimal delay.
Importantly, the technology achieves this without compromising speed. Tests have shown that swarms guided by T-STAR complete their missions faster and with smoother, more reliable flight paths than existing methods.
Lead author of the study, Dr Junyan Hu of Durham University, said: “T-STAR allows autonomous aerial vehicles to operate as a truly intelligent swarm, combining speed, safety, and coordination in ways that were previously impossible.
“This opens up new possibilities for using cooperative robotic swarms in complex scenarios, where every second counts.”
In practice, this means drones could one day be deployed more effectively to save lives during emergencies such as earthquakes or floods, to track and contain wildfires, or to deliver supplies in hard-to-reach areas.
The researchers also believe the technology has strong potential for everyday applications, from agriculture to logistics, where teams of autonomous flying robots could operate at a scale and efficiency previously thought impossible.
What makes T-STAR especially pioneering is its balance between agility and teamwork.
Each drone operates with a high degree of independence, yet remains part of a coordinated network, much like birds in a flock.
This approach gives the swarm both resilience and flexibility, ensuring it can adapt to challenges on the fly.
Extensive simulations and laboratory experiments have already demonstrated T-STAR’s superiority over existing systems, and the researchers are now looking towards real-world trials in larger outdoor environments.
Media Information
Dr Junyan Hu from Durham University is available for interview and can be contacted on junyan.hu@durham.ac.uk.
Alternatively, please contact Durham University Communications Office for interview requests on communications.team@durham.ac.uk or +44 (0)191 334 8623.
Source
‘T-STAR: Time-Optimal Swarm Trajectory Planning for Quadrotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles’, (2025), H Pan, M Zahmatkesh, F Rekabi-Bana, F Arvin and J Hu, IEEE.
An embargoed copy of the paper is available from Durham University Communications Office. Please email communications.team@durham.ac.uk.
Graphics
Associated images are available via the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/19gju8n21l84pfa8rs70h/AA4Lb0lsqETxap-6jXYKv5w?rlkey=z9nvgwhbptu1robzpgp26mwxp&st=5cypwde7&dl=0
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNTLgc3Iv4o
About Durham University
Durham University is a globally outstanding centre of teaching and research based in historic Durham City in the UK.
We are a collegiate university committed to inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham and in the world.
We conduct research that improves lives globally and we are ranked as a world top 100 university with an international reputation in research and education (QS World University Rankings 2026).
We are a member of the Russell Group of leading research-intensive UK universities and we are consistently ranked as a top 10 university in national league tables (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, Guardian University Guide and The Complete University Guide).
For more information about Durham University visit: www.durham.ac.uk/about/
Journal
IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems