Partners

UNIVERSITAT DE GIRONA (UdG)

VICOROB Research Group

The Computer Vision and Robotics Research Group (VICOROB) is a research group from the University of Girona . Devoted to the research related to the areas of computer vision, image processing and robotics. The Underwater Robotics and Vision Research Center (CIRS) is part of ViCOROB. At CIRS, there are two main research lines: underwater robotics and underwater vision. The research team has a strong experience in the design and development of hovering AUV prototypes with high-resolution image mapping capabilities. Five AUV prototypes have been designed during the last 10 years, all of them having a different conceptual design. VICOROB has also a long experience in intelligent control architectures and has contributed in mission control systems, behavior-based architectures, robot learning and path planning for AUVs.

UNIVERSITAT POLITÈCNICA DE CATALUNYA

SARTI Technological Development Center

The SARTI is a research team within the UPC devoted to the research and development in the field of electronics and instrumentation for marine technologies. The last few years, SARTI has been involved in high tech marine instrumentation facilities design and deployment that cover the full data chain from sensors to the data cloud, e.g. UPC has operated the underwater shallow observatory OBSEA since 2009, where continuous marine data time series has been archived and offers services as a test site for validations of underwater sensors in real environments. SARTI is an active member of OGC, SOSC (Smart Ocean Sensor Consortium) and IEEE.

UNIVERSITAT DE LES ILLES BALEARS

Systems, Robotics and Vision Group

For more than 25 years, the Systems, Robotics and Vision (SRV) group at UIB has accumulated a wealth of experience in computer vision and mobile robotics, contributing to numerous scientific papers, competitive projects and contracts with companies and institutions. The group, led by Gabriel Oliver, is currently made up of ten permanent researchers, a variable number of PhD students and two engineers. Among the research lines of the group, we can highlight the following related to PLOME, all of them regarding marine robotics: Path planning, control and localization, multi-robot cooperation, 2D and 3D subsea mapping using stereo and camera-laser systems; mission-time replanning and active exploration; Deep Learning for 2D (image) and 3D (pointclouds) object recognition. Given that the group has two operative marine robots (i.e. a Sparus-II AUV and an ASV) all the lab developments are thoroughly tested in real field conditions.

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - INSTITUT DE CIÈNCIES DEL MAR

EMERGE — Ecological Monitoring and Research of the Marine Environment for Restoration and Governance

This ICM-CSIC research group is led by Nixon Bahamon and Eve Galimany. EMERGE studies marine ecosystems from an integrative perspective, combining ecological research with technological development and applied knowledge for environmental decision-making. The group pays particular attention to Mediterranean and deep-sea ecosystems, where rapid environmental change, biodiversity loss and increasing human pressures call for new scientific approaches. Its research aims to improve how marine ecosystems are observed, understood and assessed, while generating knowledge that can support conservation, restoration and sustainable governance. EMERGE’s research is organised into five complementary sublines: Governance and Ecosystem-Based Management; Marine Technologies and Intelligent Observation; Ecological Restoration and Resilience; Behavioural, Morphological and Functional Ecology; and Deep-Sea Ecology and Biogeography. This vision is reflected in the projects led by or involving the group. Through major European and national initiatives such as DIGI4ECO, REDRESS, LIFE ECOREST, SMART-ME, AI4ECO, Mar de Gorgonias, TECTUGA and AbyScapes, EMERGE contributes to the development of new observation infrastructures, restoration approaches and analytical tools for marine ecosystem assessment. The group also plays a central role in long-term fisheries monitoring and scientific advice through ICATMAR, strengthening the link between ecological research and marine governance