Raffaello D'Andrea

Biography

Raffaello (Raff) D'Andrea is a professor, engineer, artist, and entrepreneur. 

He earned his PhD from Caltech and began his career at Cornell, where he co-founded the Systems Engineering program and led the Robot Soccer Team to four RoboCup world championships. In 2003, he co-founded Kiva Systems, which revolutionized warehouse automation before its acquisition by Amazon, later rebranded as Amazon Robotics. In 2008, Raff joined ETH Zurich, where his research team develops pioneering robotics platforms, including Cubli, the Flying Machine Arena, and CyberRunner.

In 2014, he co-founded Verity, a company specializing in AI-powered, drone-enabled inventory tracking systems and mobile intelligence. Verity’s technology is now deployed in over 100 warehouses worldwide with clients such as IKEA, Maersk, and UPS. Raff’s artistic contributions include drone choreographies for Cirque du Soleil, Céline Dion and Metallica, with his works featured as part of the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Canada and France’s FRAC Centre.

Raff is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and the Logistics Hall of Fame. He has received the Engelberger Robotics Award and the IEEE Robotics and Automation Award and is named as an inventor on over 100 patents.