I'm interested in robotics and particularly in how we can use autonomous systems to aid with environmental conservation. I'm currently looking into PhD programmes but it seems to me that the vast majority of research happening in the relevant departments covers pretty fundamental, low-level technologies which might sometime see an application if they get a whole lot of development.
So, what's the deal with research in technology? Are universities/institutes not a place for, say, researching "Using Reinforcement Learning in Methane Monitoring Drones?"