Johann Dauer earned a diploma in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Dresden, specializing in automation and control engineering. Since then, he has been conducting research in the field of unmanned aviation at the Institute of Flight Systems at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). He currently heads the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Division. The department’s research focuses on the design, implementation, and safe operation of a wide variety of unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as activities in the field of drone defense. Johann Dauer has conducted research on new methods for safety assessment and verification of civil UAS. In this context, he has tested the use of drones for humanitarian aid and developed heavy-lift transport drones for this specific category. His research interests include on-board autonomy, flight control, software design, C-UAS, and the safe use of artificial intelligence in the context of increasing automation.