2003-2007 - Universidade Técnica de Lisboa

Objectives: study and development of advanced systems and sensor units enabling the concerted operation of fleets of marine vehicles.
FREEsubNET (EC Funding) - A European Research Network on Key Technologies for Intervention Autonomous Underwater Vehicles.
Objectives: to provide a European-wide excellence in quality training to young and experienced researchers in the emerging field of Cooperative Autonomous
Intervention Underwater Vehicles (I-AUV).
RUMOS (FCT Funding) - RUMOS: Robotic Underwater Vehicles and Marine Animals Tracking Systems.
Objective: to develop a set of devices and methodologies for precise estimation of trajectories of underwater robotic vehicles (autonomous and remotely
operated) and marine animals.
NAV (FCT Funding): Development and Application of Advanced Nonlinear Control Techniques for the Coordination and Motion Control of a Network of
Autonomous Vehicles.
Objectives: to develop, implement and test advanced robust control strategies for the coordination and cooperative motion a network of autonomous vehicles
(NAV).
[2] Projects involving LA Research Units ISR and CREMINER
DREAM (FCT Funding) – Development of a Semi-Deep ROV for Scientific Applications and Environmental Monitoring.
Objective: development of a Remotely Operated Vehicle capable of “semi-deep” intervention (down to the 1000m range) to be used by the Portuguese scientific
community in a variety of ocean research missions. The project witnessed the development and testing of key mechanical., electrical, and electronic components
of the ROV as well as of its navigation and control systems. Additional funds are being sought to purchase the mechanical components still needed.
[Information accessed: 06-11-2008 15:34:10 on www.fct.mctes.pt]
[FCT - Avaliação de Laboratórios Associados 2008 | Form locked: False]
Future Research
Other Information (Include only if more that one group is involved. Patents/prototypes, organization of conferences, industry contract research)
ORGANIZATION OF CONFERENCES (REPRESENTATIVE SELECTION)
"Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries and Conservation, Centro do Mar, 16- 22 May, 2005, Horta, Portugal" an international workshop which lead to the publication of
the first synthesis book on seamounts: Pitcher, T. J., T. Morato, P. J. B. Hart, M. R. Clark, N. Haggan & R.S. Santos (Eds.) 2007. Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries
and Conservation. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK; Iowa, USA; Victoria, Australia: xxiv + 528pp with 156 illustrations. (ISBN: 978-1-4051-3343-2). This book was
an editoral sucess and is going, in less than one year for the second edition.
MARECO – Patterns and Processes of the Ecosystems of the Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Field Phase Workshop and Steering Group Meeting, 2-5 June, 2005,
IPIMAR, Lisbon, Portugal. This was the synthesis workshop for the scientific and technological results related with the 2004 cruise between the Azores and Iceland
which as resulted in the special issue of Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, Volume 55, Issues 1-2, Pages 1-268 (January 2008).
The Policy oriented seminar of the Parliamentary Assembly of the European Council on: “An European Perspective on Environmental and Scientific Issues of the
North Atlantic and Adjacent Seas”. Royal Garden Hotel. Ponta Delgada, 18 October 2007 .
Special Session on Autonomous Vehicles for Ocean Exploration and Exploitation, ISOPE-2007-the 17th International Offshore (Ocean) and Polar Engineering
Conference & Exhibition Lisbon, Portugal, 2007.
Pre-Conference Workshop, New Developments in Point-Stabilization, Trajectory Tracking, Path Following, and Formation Control of Autonomous Vehicles, IEEE
Conference on Decision and Control, 2006
7th IFAC Conference on Manoeuvring and Control of Marine Craft, MCMC’2006, Lisbon, Portugal, September 2006.
8th European Conference on Underwater Acoustics, Carvoeiro, Portugal, 2006
5th IFAC Symposium on Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles, IAV 2004, Lisbon, Portugal.
PROTOTYPES developed and operated by the Associated Lab in the scope of activites involving the research units of ISR and the IMAR
• DELFIM Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASC) – An autonomous surface craft (Catamaran-type) to carry out experimental research in the area of ocean robotics
and to perform scientific missions at sea. The vehicle has been used extensively for marine data acquisition and bathymetry operations in the Azores, in
cooperation with the partner IMAR/DOP.
• DELFIM_X Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASC) – An autonomous surface craft similar to the DELFIM, but with improved hydrodynamic characteristics and
increased autonomy.
• INFANTE Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) –An autonomous underwater vehicle to carry out experimental research in the area of ocean robotics and to
perform scientific missions at sea.
• MAYA AUV – designed and built by a Luso-Indian consortium consisting of NIO (Goa, India), ISR/IST, IMAR/DOP/UAzores, and RINAVE. A small, modular,
autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for scientific and commercial applications. The first prototype has been tested and used extensively in Goa, India.
• CARAVELA 2000 Autonomous Research Vessel – designed and built by IMAR/DOP/UAzores, ISR/IST, and the companies RINAVE and CONAFI Prototype of an
autonomous surface craft for long range missions at sea
• Autonomous Helicopter (Bergen Industrial Twin) - a small-scale industrial helicopter. This is a transformed radio-controlled helicopter, about 1.6m long
(including the rotor diameter), with a payload capability of 10 kg, and a top speed of 70 Km per hour.
• IRIS TOOL – designed and built by ISR/IST. A high accuracy surveying tool for both the above water and submerged parts of semi-submerged structures. IRIS
is equipped with an accurate Laser Scanner, a profiler sonar, a high end motion reference unit, and a surveying class GPS. This tool can be used either from a
rubber boat in autonomous mode or equip an Autonomous Surface Craft to produce tri-dimensional surveys with the spatial regularity required to this kind of
structures.
PATENTS
“A Controlled Thruster-Driven Profiler for Coastal Waters”, US patent Number 6786087 sept 7, 2004. The patent is the outcome of joint work done by the