Evan Beachly

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Evan Beachly is a researcher at the intersection of human-robot interaction and autonomous systems, with a primary focus on how small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) can communicate non-verbally through their flight behavior. His most cited work, "Investigation of Communicative Flight Paths for Small Unmanned Aerial Systems" (2018, 20 citations), pioneers the concept of designing drone trajectories that are intuitively understood by the general public. Rather than relying on lights, sounds, or screens, Beachly’s research explores how flight paths themselves can convey a drone’s intent, status, and even its understanding of the world—a critical capability for safe and socially acceptable drone operations in populated areas. This work builds on prior efforts to communicate destination and navigational intent, but extends them into a broader framework for non-verbal aerial communication. While his citation count reflects a focused, emerging field, Beachly’s contributions are foundational for the growing domain of socially-aware autonomous flight. His research directly addresses a key challenge in drone integration: ensuring that people can predict and trust a drone’s actions simply by watching its movement.