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PRJ-002ACTIVEJanuary 2026 — Present

ADVISOR: Autonomous Surface Ship for Guidance

EU ITEA Program — Escort-type Autonomous Surface Vehicle

Reinforcement LearningSensor FusionEU ITEAASVNavigation
Surface vessel on open water — maritime autonomous systems

Overview

ADVISOR is an escort-type Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV) developed under the EU ITEA program, focusing on autonomous guidance and cooperative navigation in constrained maritime environments including harbors and near-shore areas. The project emphasizes supervised autonomy — where human oversight coexists with automated decision-making — to enable safe, reliable operation in dynamic and cluttered waterways. Field validation is a central component of the program.

Field Trial Setup

Field trials are conducted in representative maritime environments to validate navigation algorithms, sensor fusion performance, and autonomous decision-making under real operational conditions. The ASV undergoes structured test scenarios including convoy operations, obstacle avoidance, and return-to-base maneuvers.

Autonomous surface vehicle — Maritime Robotics platform for harbor and escort trials
ADVISOR field trial — autonomous surface vessel in harbor environment

Navigation in Dynamic Environments

The ADVISOR platform integrates a comprehensive multi-modal sensor suite to achieve robust situational awareness in complex, dynamic maritime environments. Sensor data is fused in real time to support obstacle detection, path planning, and adaptive navigation.

Sensor
System
Function
IMU
Inertial Measurement Unit
Attitude and motion estimation
GNSS
Global Navigation Satellite System
Global positioning and velocity
Camera
Visual Perception System
Object detection and scene understanding
LiDAR
3D Laser Mapping
High-resolution 3D environmental mapping
RADAR
Millimeter-wave Radar
All-weather obstacle detection
MET
Meteorological Sensors
Wind speed, direction, temperature, pressure

Bathymetry Mapping & Environmental Data Collection

In addition to navigation, ADVISOR collects environmental and oceanographic data during operations. Onboard meteorological sensors continuously monitor wind speed, wind direction, air temperature, and atmospheric pressure — providing contextual data that informs route planning and maneuverability analysis.

Bathymetric mapping capabilities support harbor surveying and shallow-water navigation, contributing to a richer environmental model that enhances the ASV's autonomous decision-making.