Maritime Robotics

Our research line on unmanned maritime systems is focused on exploiting the capabilities of our seaworthy autonomous RHIB (Rubber Hull Inflatable Boat) for security operations:

Heterogeneous collaboration between multiple autonomous and semi-autonomous unmanned maritime systems

Operations at sea are getting more and more automated, in order to reduce the strain on and risks for human personnel. As a result, unmanned maritime systems are getting deployed more and more for operations like mine counter measures, maritime surveillance, inland waterway navigation and dredging. RMA focuses on the research questions that arise when deploying heterogeneous swarms of these systems:

  • How to ensure the interoperability between the heterogeneous assets?
  • How to build up a common operational picture between the different assets?
  • What are the optimal strategies for collaboration between the assets.
Rapid sea floor characterisation using a data-lake approach

In order to assess the probability for the presence of sea mines, a deep knowledge of the sea floor is required. As this is an operation should be performed for enormous geographical areas, efficient sensing methods and data aggregation methods are required. We investigate methodologies for rapid seafloor characterisation which are combined with a data lake approach for ensuring long-term data maintainability.