INESC TEC researchers organised and carried out a technical challenge at the international conference Breaking the Surface 2024 (BTS), which took place from September 30 to October 7 in Biograd na Moru, Croatia. This interdisciplinary event (currently in the 16th edition) focuses on robotics and marine technology. This year’s edition brought together 198 experts and researchers from different areas (representing more than 20 countries), who exchanged knowledge and experiences in the field of marine robotics and associated applications.
The INESC TEC team, together with other colleagues, participated in the organisation of the underwater location challenge, focused on underwater acoustic detection technologies, and the development and testing of innovative solutions to determine the precise location of objects or vehicles in underwater environments. Underwater location is a critical element in several domains, including autonomous vehicle navigation, marine exploration, and rescue operations.
During the challenge, the participants had the opportunity to apply their solutions in a real scenario in the Adriatic Sea, off Biograd na Moru, testing the accuracy and reliability of their technologies. The teams used acoustic sensor systems and other advanced technologies to address the challenges associated with underwater environments, e.g., the propagation of sound in different conditions and depths. The main objective was to accurately determine the location of a device that was on the seabed, emitting an intermittent sound. The teams had access to a sound recorder and several hydrophones (underwater microphones), which they carried on a support vessel – for a maximum period of one hour. The survey area was close to 2km by 1km, and the winning team was able to determine the position with an error of about 30m.
“Our team, with a vast experience in underwater robotics and location technologies, was instrumental in designing and carrying out the challenge. We were responsible for the creation of the test scenarios, the transfer of basic knowledge about acoustic location at the beginning of the week (for many participants, it was their first contact with this topic), the monitoring of the experiences at sea, and the evaluation of the solutions presented by the teams”, explained Nuno Cruz, researcher at INESC TEC – who also stated that “for many participants, especially the youngest ones, this was a unique opportunity to experiment and ‘get their hands dirty’”.
This initiative emphasised INESC TEC’s relevance in the international domain of underwater research, as well as the institution’s commitment to technological progress in this area.
The Breaking the Surface (BTS) conference is a major European event dedicated to the exchange of knowledge on underwater technology and science – now in its 16th edition. This was the third edition of the challenge associated with BTS, and it’s also the third time it welcomed an INESC TEC team. The organisation of the 17th edition is already underway: the next BTS will take place in Cyprus, in 2025.
The researcher mentioned in this news piece is associated with INESC TEC and UP-FEUP.
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