Prof. Marc Pollefeys is behind Google Maps Live View, Microsoft HoloLens, and the world’s first vision-based autonomous drone
One of the world’s most influential researchers in computer vision, robotics AI, and spatial AI has joined INSAIT as an Affiliated Faculty Member. Prof. Marc Pollefeys will collaborate with researchers at the Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT) at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” on cutting-edge research in these strategic areas, further strengthening the institute’s international excellence and its strategic partnership with ETH Zurich.
Prof. Pollefeys is among the world’s leading scientists in robotics AI, spatial AI, and intelligent systems that enable machines to perceive, understand, and interact with the physical world. One of his most significant scientific achievements is pioneering the first software pipeline capable of automatically reconstructing detailed 3D models from photographs—a breakthrough that laid the foundations of modern 3D computer vision.
His research has driven numerous landmark technological advances, including the world’s first vision-based autonomous drone, Google Project Tango, the technologies behind Google Maps Live View, and Microsoft HoloLens 2, one of the leading mixed reality platforms. He is also the creator of two of the most widely used open-source tools in computer vision: COLMAP, for high-precision 3D reconstruction from images, and LightGlue, a fast and efficient image matching framework.
In recent years, Prof. Pollefeys has been at the forefront of developing the next generation of AI for robotics, advancing multimodal AI, spatial AI, and robotics foundation models that enable intelligent systems to perceive complex environments, reason about the physical world, and perform a wide range of tasks autonomously.
After earning his M.S. and Ph.D. from KU Leuven, Prof. Pollefeys continued his academic career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before joining ETH Zurich as Professor of Computer Science in 2007. There, he established one of the world’s leading research groups in computer vision and robotics. Today, he leads ETH Zurich’s Computer Vision and Geometry Lab and serves as Director of the Microsoft Spatial AI Lab in Zurich.
Prof. Pollefeys is a Fellow of IEEE, ACM, and ELLIS, and a member of Academia Europaea and the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts (KVAB). His honors include the David Marr Prize, the ERC Starting Grant, the Swiss National Science Foundation Advanced Grant, the Packard Fellowship, and the NSF CAREER Award.
His research focuses on developing algorithms and AI models that build rich 3D representations of the world, enabling robots and intelligent systems to navigate, plan, and execute complex tasks autonomously. He has authored more than 500 scientific publications, which have received over 80,000 citations, making him one of the most influential researchers in computer vision and robotics worldwide.
Prof. Pollefeys’ impact extends well beyond his own scientific contributions. He holds more than 30 patents and has supervised a generation of researchers who now hold faculty positions at leading universities across Europe, North America, and Asia. He has also played a major leadership role in the global research community as General Chair of ICCV 2019, General Chair of ECCV 2014, Program Co-Chair of CVPR 2009, and Founding President of the European Computer Vision Association (ECVA).
Alongside his academic career, Prof. Pollefeys has been deeply involved in technology transfer and entrepreneurship. He co-founded the deep-tech companies Astrivis, specializing in 3D scanning, and OneVisage, focused on 3D facial authentication. Research from his lab has also led to the creation of deep-tech startups such as Auterion, which develops autonomous systems for defense and enterprise applications, and JOSEPHA. In addition, he is an angel investor and advisor to robotics startups, helping translate cutting-edge research into real-world innovation.
At INSAIT, Prof. Pollefeys will collaborate on and lead cutting-edge research in robotics AI, further strengthening the institute’s presence in this strategic area. His appointment marks another important milestone in INSAIT’s development as a world-class center for AI and computer science research, while deepening its connections with ETH Zurich and the global robotics ecosystem.