Welcome to the

Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems
Research Laboratory


Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Fink, FAIMBE, FPHMS, FSPIE, FARVO, UA FdaVinci, UA FACABI, Senior IEEE, founded the Visual and Autonomous Exploration Systems Research Laboratory in 2003 at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, USA.

Since October 2009, Dr. Fink has been an Associate Professor and the inaugural Edward & Maria Keonjian Endowed Chair in Microelectronics at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona in the Departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Systems & Industrial Engineering, Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering, and Ophthalmology & Vision Science. He held a Visiting Associate in Physics appointment at Caltech (2001-2016), as well as concurrent appointments as Visiting Research Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Neurological Surgery at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California (2005-2014). He was a Senior Researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (2001-2009).

               


Current News

Featured on Yahoo!Life: Researchers from the University of Arizona have developed new technology that will allow flocks of robots to go house hunting on other planets. Dr. Wolfgang Fink, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at UArizona, is the lead author of a new paper, that outlines how rovers, lake landers, and even submersible vehicles could communicate with each other over a network that could greatly expand our ability to explore planets.

July 14, 2023

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Fink featured in the Digital Edition of Tech Briefs July 2023 (formerly NASA Tech Briefs) on the "Hansel & Gretel Breadcrumb"-inspired, patent-pending Dynamically Deployed Communication Network (DDCN) paradigm, using mesh topology, for planetary subsurface exploration as well as the scouting out of underground habitats for astronauts.

June 16, 2023

Podcast-interviewed by Arizona Science on AZPM/NPR: The University of Arizona is a leader in bio-engineered optical science. Prof. Wolfgang Fink directs research into visual prosthetic technology at UA. He describes how electrical stimulation of the optic nerve can advance the visual experience for the blind. Prof. Wolfgang Fink spoke with Leslie Tolbert, Ph.D., Regents Professor emerita in Neuroscience at the University of Arizona.

May 29, 2023

Prof. Fink earned the inaugural University Faculty Service Award - one of the highest honors at the University of Arizona. Created in 2022, the award recognizes faculty members who have demonstrated significant leadership and impact in service activities, such as community engagement, academic societies and university committees. Prof.

May 25, 2023

Prof. Wolfgang Fink earned the inaugural University Faculty Service Award. Created in 2022, the award recognizes faculty members who have demonstrated significant leadership and impact in service activities, such as community engagement, academic societies and university committees. Fink was selected for his “astonishing commitment to STEM education.” This award is one of the highest honors at the University of Arizona.

May 12, 2023

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Fink featured by The University of Arizona Foundation: The Edward & Maria Keonjian Endowed Chair Supports Discoveries Big and Small. The beauty of philanthropic funding is that it supports the pursuit of truly novel ideas that are beyond the purview of funding agencies, and it offers opportunities that you can’t typically access with grant or federal funding, like the opportunity to attend a conference in a new field of interest.