Welcome to the COBRA Group at the University of New Brunswick

COllaboration Based Robotics and Automations is a collection of  inspired researchers developing robotics applications located at the University of New Brunswick in beautiful Fredericton.

Current projects include research in unmanned aerial, ground, and underwater robotics. Smart Grid and control of domestic hot water heaters for efficient demand side management.


COBRA Team Meets with South Korean Defence Scientists

Fredericton – The University of New Brunswick’s COBRA team (COllaboration Based Robotics and Automation) met with defence scientists from South Korea on Dec. 7, 2011. The three scientists travelled to Fredericton on behalf of the Agency for Defense Development, the organization that is responsible for all defence tactics in South Korea.


UNB is the oldest English language university in Canada and the first public university in North America. In 1854, UNB became the birthplace of engineering education in Canada. COBRA, which was established at UNB in 2009, has been conducting groundbreaking research in the field of unmanned vehicles. The group, which has six members and is led by Dr. Howard Li, has developed unmanned land, aerial, and underwater vehicles. Their work has attracted the attention of organizations such as Defence Research and Development Canada. COBRA researchers have developed autonomous behaviours, path planning algorithms, multiple robot SLAM algorithms and navigation control strategies for unmanned systems. COBRA has transferred research results to the Department of National Defence. The team has established collaborations with Dalhousie University, McGill University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of New South Wales, the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, etc. The research results were reported in the news papers and on television, such as the Telegraph Journal, the Daily Gleaner, CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), and the Discovery Channel. General public as well as government officials (Minister of Energy, New Brunswick, Director General of Defence Research & Development Canada Atlantic) are very pleased to see the achievement of New Brunswick universities.

The Agency for Defense Development and COBRA met to discuss potential collaborations. The meetings lasted for the entire day on Dec. 7, with each organization giving presentations about its work and research plans.

“The meetings with the Agency for Defense Development went well,” said Dr. Li. “It was an opportunity for us to showcase the exciting research that we have been conducting at UNB with a large organization. The meetings were a chance to discuss possible ways to move COBRA into the future.”

The COBRA team has had a chance to showcase their work before. In November, the team travelled to the 2011 Unmanned Systems Canada Conference in Halifax, where they were able to network with experts in the unmanned systems technology. Carl Thibault, a COBRA member, demonstrated an unmanned aerial vehicle called Draganflyer X8 in front of a large crowd.

The hard work that the team put into the conference in Halifax was a great learning experience to prepare for their South Korean visitors. “We were able to apply knowledge that we had learned at the 2011 Unmanned Systems Canada competition and use it when we presented our research to the Agency for Defense Development,” Dr. Li said.

Three members of the COBRA team – Thibault, Amr Nagaty, and Liam Paull – presented their research during the meeting. Sajad Saeedi, a member of the team specializing in SLAM, had to miss the meeting due to illness.

After the COBRA team members presented, the Agency for Defense Development presented a slideshow detailing their work and the need for unmanned vehicles.
The day ended on a high note, with COBRA team members showing the visiting gentlemen around downtown Fredericton.


COBRA is Featured on UNB's Front Page

 A team of University of New Brunswick researchers – and their robots – are leading the way in the field of unmanned vehicles.

 In the spring, the team of engineering students and faculty, known as COBRA (COllaboration Based Robotics and Automation) won first prize in a national robotics competition. The Unmanned Systems Canada 2011 Student Competition was held in Valcartier, Que., last May.

 Participating teams in the contest had to create a ground robot that could navigate through a maze while detecting targets along the way. “It was rewarding to see our hard work be recognized on a national level,” said Dr. Howard Li, the UNB faculty member in charge of COBRA.

 For the complete article follow this link


COBRA is on Discovery Channel

COBRA was invited to participate in the Defence Research and Development Canada 2011 technology demonstration as a reserch contractor and was greated by the Discovery Channel. Follow the link to view the Daily Planet December 14th 2011 eposide


Unmanned Systems Canada 2011 Halifax NS

COBRA attended the The 9th Annual Unmanned Systems Canada Conference and Exposition in Halifax Nova Scotia. Please enjoy our coverage of the event.

"This year's conference emphasizes the civil and commercial applications and solutions of unmanned systems in the land, sea and aerospace environments. We think it will provide an excellentforum for sharing knowledge and creating new relationships within this important emerging sector. We also have many great speakers from the military sector who will provide wide-ranging perspectives on the latest developments and uses of unmanned systems in support of defence and security. As an additional benefit, you will
have the opportunity to attend an afternoon at Defence Research and Development Canada -- Atlantic, where researchers will be providing demonstrations of advanced sea, land, and air unmanned systems technology." 2011 Conference Chair Ulrich Jaggi

 For more information about our work please visit their website


COBRA is Making News

COBRA team got a visit from CBC News on November 4th.

Check out our story at 13:19 here


COBRA is Going Head to Head at UAVForge

Check out our concept video here


Researchers  Series Eposode 5

"“I like what I’m doing now, so I hope that I have a chance to continue working on it and keep advancing forward in what I do,”

To read the full article by Alanah Duffy navigate to Amr's page or click here


Researchers  Series Eposode 4

"I actually didn't realize before I got into this research how big of an issue underwater mines are."

To read the full article by Alanah Duffy navigate to Liam's page or click here


Researchers  Series Eposode 3

"Robots should be able to navigate by themselves, find targets, and localize them,"

To read the full article by Alanah Duffy navigate to Sajads' page or click here


Researchers  Series Eposode 2

Mostafa Shad is on the cusp of changing the amount of energy used by water heaters in residential homes.

To read the full article by Alanah Duffy navigate to Mostafa's page or click here


Researchers  Series Eposode 1

Carl Thibault was only four years old when he became interested in robotics. 

To read the full article by Alanah Duffy navigate to Carl's page or click here


COBRA Wins the First Canadian Unmanned Ground vehicle competition in CFB Valcartier

COBRA team won first place in phase one and two of the 2010-2011 Student UGV competition hosted by Unmanned Systems Canada. Click the picture for the media coverage and watch the video below.


The COBRA Team was involved the Annual UNB Robotics Competition More information is available here at the website