Qualcomm has acquired KMel Robotics, a Philadelphia start-up that specialises in multi-rotor drones capable of coordinated, high-performance operations.

KMel's website said that co-founders Alex Kushleyev and Daniel Mellinger flogged the company to Qualcomm on February 2.

Kumar is famous for his expertise in developing autonomous ground and aerial robots, and in designing bio-inspired algorithms for robot swarms.

The startup was founded KMel in late 2011. Both Mellinger and Kushleyev now describe themselves in their LinkedIn profiles as Qualcomm senior staff engineers in Philadelphia. Several engineers went with them.

The acquisition is the latest development in an expansion into robotics that has been underway for years at Qualcomm.

Four months ago, the outfit said it was planning to establish a corporate robotics accelerator with Techstars to accelerate the development of next-generation robots and intelligent machines.