Categoria: Sparus II

The National Oceanography Centre (NOC), the United Kingdom’s centre of excellence for oceanographic sciences, works with SPARUS II as one of their software-testing platforms. 

One of the main features of IQUA’s platforms is that they have an open conception, both in terms of hardware (reconfigurable) and software (using ROS operating system). These characteristics brought the Marine Autonomous and Robotic Systems team at NOC to acquire a SPARUS II platform to be used as a testing platform for their software. 

In the last months, the team of engineers at IQUA has developed a tailor-made payload for NOC’s SPARUS II, integrating the NORBIT WMS-FLS according to the customer’s needs. This forward looking sonar will be used by Autosubs in challenging applications such as under-ice missions. SPARUS II will be used as a software-testing platform for the testing the algorithms and deciding the best sensor configurations and control strategies.  

NOC undertakes world leading research in large scale oceanography and ocean measurement technology innovation. They work with Government and business to turn great science and technology into advice and applications. The NOC supports the UK science community based in universities and smaller research institutes with scientific facilities, research infrastructure and irreplaceable data assets – enabling the UK to harness the full power and diversity of its scientific talent in ocean science. 

IQUA Robotics started its journey as a University of Girona start up back in October 2016, after 10 years of applied research on marine robotics and applications at CIRS – Underwater Vision and Robotics Lab. On July 2017, the company delivered its first unit of SPARUS II AUV to its final customer, the Department of Marine Technologies, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences at the University of Haifa.

The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences is a unique initiative on a global scale, applying an interdisciplinary approach with highly professional standards. The school has four complementary divisions: Department of Maritime Civilizations, Dr. Strauss Department of Marine Geosciences, Department of Marine Biology and Hatter Department of Marine Technologies.

The centre chose SPARUS II AUV for its “small size and easy of deployment, its dedicated payload area and its open source code”. Other assets that made the team decide its purchase were: “the ability to reconfigure the system, its hovering capabilities, as well as its competitive price”. Another value added for the decision making process was that “the SPARUS II AUV, being designed by a university lab, would promote academic collaboration”.

According to the research team, the robot will be used in two main domains: “we are going to use it for research on novel technologies: underwater image enhancement and color reconstruction, underwater high resolution photographic 3D mapping, propulsion, maneuvering, navigation and control and, secondly, it will be used to map important reef ecosystems in the Red Sea and in the Mediterranean, as well as wrecks.”

You can see University of Haifa SPARUS II AUV in action here

Picture by: H. Nativ – The Morris Kahn Marine Research Centre