Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SeaClear (SEarch, identificAtion and Collection of marine Litter with Autonomous Robots)
Période du rapport: 2021-07-01 au 2022-12-31
The SeaClear system will be displayed at four demo sites where an autonomous robot system will be verified: one system for the purpose of cleaning ports in the Hamburg port area on two demo site locations with the end-user Hamburg Port Authority (Germany), another in the area of Dubrovnik, namely near Lokrum Island and one in the area of the Mali Ston Bay, with Regional agency DUNEA (Croatia) as end-user for these areas. With these four demo sites, SeaClear has an overview in completely different sectors, given the fact that we have a pilot site of port location emphasizing maritime industries and two other locations representing protected nature areas, one from the tourism sector and the other from the mariculture sector, namely the shellfish industry. Including all of the mentioned areas, the SeaClear system will face different waste fractions, both from inland and sea origin, and obstacles that need to be solved in order for such a system to be fully functional.
We are already making a significant impact with the public, with two popularization videos, two highly successful press releases, and many outreach talks, among others. Stakeholders have started being involved in a community-of-practice in Dubrovnik. We have established connections with several existing companies and projects on related topics. In addition, we have worked out a business plan and a data management plan.
Regarding system integration, the project concept was analyzed together the main system components that were defined, and the appropriate server backbone has been designed and implemented. The SOC has been tested with each individual SeaClear robot for commanding the robots to specific waypoints, while the SeaClear Service Layers has enabled monitoring the robots over the WebUI. Individual components and some software interfaces that enable the flow of information from the robotic system to the shore operators and SeaClear clients and backwards have been tested during preliminary trials. Alongside the network infrastructure has been validated. Several individual hardware and software components of the SeaClear robotic system have been tested and validated during test campaigns in Dubrovnik, Hamburg and Marseille. We have significantly improved the web and social media presence of the project, issued highly impactful press releases, represented the project at many outreach events, and started up our exploration steering board; in addition to many other dissemination and exploitation activities.
Initial experimental tests were conducted on all three demo sites which proved to be very useful for the system setup. During these trials data needed for litter detection and verification of estimation and control algorithms was gathered and documented. Moreover, we are currently in the phase of planning our first demonstration, bound to happen in May-June 2023. The progress made in the reporting period provides very good prospects that we will be able to successfully carry out the work and realize the objectives of the SeaClear project. In addition, the fact that the end-users are involved in all steps of the project significantly increases the chances of successful deployment of the system after the end of the project.