The UJI tests a new autonomous robotic catamaran for the maintenance and repair of marine infrastructures in the Port of Castelló (IMAGE)

Universitat Jaume I

The UJI tests a new autonomous robotic catamaran for the maintenance and repair of marine infrastructures in the Port of Castelló

Caption

The Centre for Research in Robotics and Underwater Technologies (CIRTESU) at the Universitat Jaume I in Castelló, with the support of PortCastelló, has recently carried out the first tests of a new autonomous catamaran-type surface robot, controllable by remote control, which will facilitate the deployment and retrieval of a wireless underwater robot for the inspection, maintenance and repair of fish farm nets and other marine infrastructures in the near future.

This system is part of the CARMEN (Cooperative Autonomous Networked Robotics for Maintenance and Enhanced Manipulation) project, funded by the Spanish Government's State Research Agency's "Knowledge Generation Projects" programme, in collaboration with the University of the Balearic Islands and the University of Girona. The joint objective is to explore the autonomous and automatic deployment of a robotic tandem consisting of a surface robot and an underwater robot.

At the Universitat Jaume I, the case study focuses on supporting and improving animal safety and welfare in the maintenance, inspection and repair of fish farm nets using this cooperative robotic system. The use of autonomous and teleoperated solutions seeks to improve safety for personnel, as well as minimise the impact on animals and the marine environment.

The tests carried out in the Port of Castelló have been an important milestone for the IRSLab research group (part of CIRTESU), as they have enabled the successful remote operation of the surface robot—a catamaran measuring approximately 3.2 m x 1.4 m. The power and response of the motors, the capacity and autonomy of the batteries, and the correct functioning of the navigation and remote control system have been verified.
These tests have confirmed the robustness of the platform and its suitability as a basis for the next phases of the project, which will focus specifically on the deployment and recovery of the underwater robot from the catamaran itself, in an increasingly automated manner.

Credit

Universitat Jaume I of Castellón

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