Jose Martinez-Carranza, PhD
I am a Tenured Senior Research Scientist C (equivalent to Full Professor) in the Computer Science Department at the Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica Optica y Electronica (INAOE) based in Puebla City, in Mexico.
My research interests primarily focus on robotics, computer vision for robotics, Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs), and intelligent unmanned systems. I have spearheaded research into novel methods for autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones, with investigations spanning various approaches aimed at enhancing UAVs' perception of their environment, encompassing visual perception, aerial robot audition, and navigation scenarios in GPS-denied environments. My work delves into specialised techniques such as visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), visual odometry, and neural localisation to enable robust navigation. Furthermore, I am actively involved in exploring aerial interaction, which includes the utilization of a robotic arm and object lifting with a suspended cable.
I was honoured to have received the highly prestigious Newton Advanced Fellowship granted by the Royal Society in the UK. Additionally, I am Senior Member of the IEEE, and member of the National System of Researchers in Mexico, Level 2 for the period 2024–2028. In 2025, I received the State of Puebla Medal of Science and Technology “Luis Rivera Terrazas”, highest academic distinction awarded by the State Congress of Puebla, in Basic Sciences and Humanities Research, category: Physics–Mathematics, Earth Sciences, and Engineering.
My team, QuetzalC++, has achieved outstanding performance in various international competitions related to aerial robotics. Notably, we were the first Mexican team to win an autonomous drone competition by achieving 1st Place in the IEEE IROS 2017 Autonomous Drone Racing competition. We also won 1st Place in the Regional Prize (Latin America) of the OpenCV AI Competition, sponsored by Microsoft Azure and Intel. In 2025, the team ranked 10th Place in Season 1 and 7th Place in Season 2 of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League, Autonomous Drone Challenge (2025–2026), held in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
I currently serve as President of the Mexican Robotics Federation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing robotics in Mexico. Under my leadership, we organised another edition of the country’s largest robotics tournament, the Mexican Tournament in Robotics, which received the endorsement of the RoboCup Federation to be named “RoboCup Mexican Open 2025”, attracting over 1,000 competitors. In June 2025, we founded and launched the first Mexican Conference on Intelligent Robots (MEXCIR). We also successfully organised the International Micro Air Vehicle Conference and Competition (IMAV) 2025, held in San Andrés Cholula, Puebla, where I acted as General Chair.
Note: There is a PhD position available in my group with the possibility of getting a full scholarship. If you are interested then send an email with the subject: "PhD Candidate", attach a full CV and a motivation letter; make sure you include a research topic of interest.
Click on the button below to download my full CV (in English)
