Contact Name: Prof. Claudio Melchiorri
About the speaker
Pere Ridao is the director of the Computer Vision and Robotics Research Institute (VICOROB), the head of the Underwater Robotics Research Center (CIRS) at the University of Girona (UdG) and a co-founder of Iqua Robotics SL devoted to the manufacture of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). He served as the chair of the IFAC Technical Committee on Marine Systems (2014-2017) and as the chair of the spanish network about “Robotics and Automation for the Marine Industry” (AUTOMAR 2011-2015). Dr. Ridao research activity focuses on designing and developing Autonomous Underwater Vehicles for 3D Mapping and Intervention. During his career he has participated in several international research projects (TRIDENT, MORPH, PANDORA, EUMR, IAUV-CONTROL, SUNRISE/ LOON-DOCK, EUROFLEETS, CALDERA), international research networks (FREESUBNET, MOMARNET, ROBOACADEMY, STRONGMAR and EXCELLABUST), national research projects (AIRSUB, RAUVI, TRITON, MERBOTS, TWINBOT).
Abstract
Although commercial Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are currently used routinely for opto / acoustic seafloor mapping in predominantly flat terrains, they can not operate in areas with significant 3D relief. Currently, only Remotely Operated Vehicles can be used for high resolution optical mapping of steep terrains, as well as for Inspection, Maintenance and Repair applications where manipulation is required. As research advances, some of these tasks solved nowadays with teleoperated vehicles, will be gradually achieved with autonomous robots. The future AUVs have to be able to build high resolution maps of arbitrary underwater 3D structures. From one side, this means that mapping algorithms to build 3D models from the opto / acoustic imagery are required, but also that is required to guide the robot close to the structure to make it visible by the cameras. Even more, future AUVs have to be able to safely move around submerged infrastructures, to inspect them as well as to perform manipulation tasks like grasping objects, turning valves and plugging connectors, paving the way to a new breed of vehicles, the so called Intervention Autonomous Underwater Vehicle.