Develop new technologies for monitoring underwater systems that help scientists know the status of species living between 200 and 500 meters deep. This is the objective of the campaign that was carried out last December from the research vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa operated by the CSIC within the framework of the PLOME research project thanks to the tests that were carried out this summer at the Club Náutico Sant Feliu de Guíxols. The VICOROB research group of the University of Girona (UdG) participated together with researchers from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) and the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM).
The tests done at the CNSFG
The tests consisted of communicating acoustically and optically a robot from the UdG with fixed stations located on the seabed to transmit information about the data and images acquired. Algorithms that use artificial intelligence to detect fish or crustaceans in the images were also validated. The information is sent in real time to the research vessel so that scientists can monitor robotic systems working autonomously and remotely. The results of the campaign were a success and work is already underway on the following systems that will be validated again in 2025 at the end of the project.
(PHOTO: UdG, UPC and UPM team with the Girona 1000 robot and two communication buoys at the Sant Feliu de Guixols Yacht Club).
