European project aimed at contributing to the digitalisation of shipbuilding won an international award

INESC TEC is one of the partners of the European project Mari4_YARD, dedicated to the development of flexible and modular construction solutions in small and medium-sized shipyards; this endeavour was one of the winners in the Economic Viability category of the prestigious Waterbone Awards initiative. The award acknowledged the work carried out within the scope of this project, which aimed to develop technological solutions to assist naval workers, as well as to prepare operations for the future.

The project stemmed from the dynamics and competitiveness of the European shipping industry, with connections to important sectors like transportation, security, energy, research and the environment. Mari4_YARD focused on becoming a key player in this field by leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile and ubiquitous tools, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), and robotics to create connected shipyards.

Some of the main results of the project translate into worker-centred solutions based on new collaborative and flexible robotics solutions, augmented reality and projection mapping solutions, and exoskeletons.

INESC TEC’s participation in the project – which began in December 2020 and ran until 2024 – focused on developing a mobile manipulator for various internal logistics tasks, designing intuitive human-machine interfaces for robot programming, and creating a mixed augmented reality-based solution to assist operators in marking, cutting, and welding metal structures. The institution’s experience in the transfer of technology to the industrial sector, together with the collaborative work with the University of Porto, were also important assets for the project.

The 2025 edition of the Waterborne Awards took place in Brussels, on February 4 and 5. In addition to winning in the Economic Viability category, the Mari4_YARD project also earned a nomination in the Innovation category. These awards focus on projects in the maritime sector, namely those dedicated to sustainability, innovation and competitiveness.

Mari4_YARD was funded by the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation – Horizon 2020, under agreement no. 101006798. The project features 18 entities from nine countries.