INESC TEC participated in an event that explores marine robotics

The event Breaking the Surface 2022 (14^th International Interdisciplinary Field Workshop of Maritime Robotics and Applications) took place in Croatia and it aimed to encourage synergies and exchange of knowledge and experiences in the field of marine robotics and its applications. INESC TEC participated in this event, through a lecture and a tutorial, and was also involved in the organisation of an underwater localisation challenge in the Adriatic Sea.

From September 25 to October 2, the participants had access to the latest scientific research and its results, as well as opportunities to develop practical experience with complex underwater systems.

Nuno Cruz, coordinator and researcher of INESC TEC’s Centre for Robotics and Autonomous Systems (CRAS), explored the topic of marine robotics with the lecture “The role of acoustics in underwater robotics”. Bruno Ferreira, also a researcher at CRAS, presented the tutorial “Underwater localization of acoustic sources – principles and approaches”.

INESC TEC also helped to organise a localization challenge: an acoustic target was placed at the bottom of the Adriatic Sea and five teams were asked to find it. Mentored by researchers from INESC TEC and the universities of Haifa and Newcastle, more than 20 participants designed localisation approaches and collected data at sea for limited time – a challenge that closely resembles real situations, like searching for flight recorders after airplane crashes.

“One of the reasons for the success of this event is the significant practical component, the first opportunity for many young researchers to test scientific equipment at sea. This year, we decided to innovate, and for the first time we proposed a competition to the participants”, said Nuno Cruz.

Organised annually since 2009, this event is a stage for experts, teachers, students, researchers, and industrialists from various areas related to the sea, i.e., robotics, biology, archaeology, security, and geology.

The researchers mentioned in this news piece are associated with INESC TEC and UP-FEUP.