SMaRC Swedish Maritime Robotics Centre : Mid-Term Evaluation Report 2020

• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Stockholm 2020
• Subjects: Robotics; Robotteknik och automation; Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-282812; https://doi.org/10.30746/TRITA-SCI-RAP-2020:006

This is the midterm report of the project SMaRC (Swedish Maritime Robotics Centre), which is one of four industrial research centres (IRC) funded by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF). SMaRC is a unique collaborative research environment consisting of key industry, academia, and governmental partners in Sweden. The focus of the centre is to enable a transformational/disruptive shift towards the next generation of marine robots.The aim of this report is to describe how SMaRC will provide industrial outcomes that deliver into societal benefit areas, by linking user-defined scenarios with capabilities. This will strengthen the research focus as well as create a transparent mapping from scientific activities to end-user needs. The SMaRC project has now reached its midpoint and is running according to plan. The initial start-up process is now passed and key milestones of the project have been reached and demonstrated at the joint workshop and demonstration periods. SMaRC has already participated in very challenging Antarctic expeditions, developed and tested its own underwater robots, and demonstrated new capabilities for perception, navigation, endurance and autonomy in both simulator environments and in field experiments. For the upcoming second half of the project period, the focus will be on integration and demonstration to move closer to the industrial and end-user needs. The future research plan is connected to six targeted scenarios highlighting key capabilities to reach within the research projects. The demonstration of these scenarios also supports enhanced cooperation with both national and international partners. QC 20200930