Flying Robot and Medical Equipment: Projects by HSE University Graduates at ‘Moscow 2030’ Forum
At the end of August, 2025, a large-scale forum ‘Territory of the Future. Moscow 2030’ took place at the Museon Art Park, where students from different universities demonstrated their inventions and art installations. Graduates of the 2025 Master’s programme in Product and Industrial Design at HSE Art and Design School presented the first Russian autonomous flying robot, Belka, and medical equipment designed for disinfecting donated blood, Ance. They shared details of their projects with the HSE News Service.
Anastasia Kogteva
About the Project
— Belka is an autonomous flying robot for the International Space Station. It was created to help astronauts in zero gravity: it takes over routine tasks like monitoring the station’s condition or capturing photos and videos of experiments.
Project development is carried out in the laboratory of the Institute of Mechanics at Lomonosov Moscow State University. I joined the project at a time when an engineering prototype had already been created. This prototype has been tested on a weightlessness simulation stand that the team had developed. They were looking for an industrial designer who could design an ergonomic and functional exterior case for the prototype. I also worked closely with a team of engineers and scientists to prepare materials and renderings for presentations at international conferences. It was an interesting experience, both the academic atmosphere and the startup drive were palpable.
Forum ‘Moscow 2030’
— Maria Stepanova, my mentor from HSE Art and Design School, helped me get to the forum. She’s amazing! Even after my graduation, she continued to help with the promotion of the project, which really means a lot to me, because the popularisation of science is one of the goals of the project. On September 13, I will give a lecture at this forum— ‘Through the thorns to the stars: robot design for the ISS.’ I will talk about my project and the approach we took to robot design.
Plans for the Future
— The project continues to develop actively, and the team is currently working on a computer vision algorithm and design optimization. The team has also presented at various conferences, including ones in China and the BRICS forum in Brazil. We have even pitched our project to real astronauts. The project has a great future, and the whole team strongly believes that we will be able to launch the robot into space by 2027.
About the University
— Studying at HSE University was intense and productive. At the beginning of the second year, I never expected to be able to work on a real project so soon. Of course, this was not possible without the help of my mentors and teachers. They guided me in both industrial and graphic design, which, by the way, turned out to be very useful: the project eventually became comprehensive and complete.
Looking back, studying has been difficult. It was hard to combine study with work and give my best in educational projects, even though I really enjoyed them. However, even at this pace, you inevitably grow, because you are working on your project in a competitive environment. Gentle, but still competitive.
Each project was a challenge, but all these challenges have been overcome, thanks to which I have gained many different solutions and approaches that I can continue to apply in my work.
Egor Ugrimov
About the Project
— Ance is a medical device designed to inactivate pathogens in donated blood and plasma. Ultraviolet light and a photosensitiser, such as riboflavin (vitamin B2), are used for disinfection. The donor material is placed in a chamber and evenly irradiated by UV lamps, while actively mixing.
This design is entirely mine—technically, I did this project all by myself.
I truly love industrial design and enjoy creating complex objects that are easy to use and operate. I like it when you can simply use something without having to worry about how it works or what to do if it breaks, as the object speaks to you in a language that you understand. There really aren’t many such objects, and the more complicated they are, the scarier it is to work with them.
The medical project came about coincidentally. My previous place of work overlapped with the import substitution field, so I decided to give it a try. It turned out to be a success. A lot of work went into it, and attention was paid to every detail.
About HSE University
— Studying at HSE University went well, with frequent projects, constant task changes, accessible and useful information, a great mentor and teaching staff, and a lot of practice in competitions and tasks from brands and companies.
They helped me a lot with the Ance project, primarily through advice and discussions, but all the work was done personally by me, including research. That was the point.
Forum ‘Moscow 2030’
— The forum is wonderful! Maria Stepanova, my mentor in the field of study, helped me get here. There are many interesting things here besides student projects.
During this time, both individuals and companies have shown active interest in my project and there are promising prospects for its development. I am receiving offers, but I am still thinking about the future—both my own and the project’s.
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