SpilLess Project in tests in Port of Leixões

SpilLess Project in tests in Port of Leixões

The SPILLESS project, which has INESC TEC as partner, carried out several tests on 24 April at the Marina Porto Atlântico.

21st May 2018

The SPILLESS project, which has INESC TEC as partner, carried out several tests on 24 April at the Marina Porto Atlântico.

The demonstrations had the participation of robots ROAZ II (autonomous surface vehicle) and STORK (drone) in which algorithms and autonomous navigation control were tested. The robots circumvent (surface robot) and overfly (aerial robot) a hydrocarbon slick (fake one) by autonomously spreading an agent to degrade it.

The proposal presented by the European project SpilLess - First-line response to oil spills based on native microorganism cooperation - consists of using native microorganism to degrade oil existing in the ocean,for example, from oil spills associated with shipping accidents, oil platforms, ports or other industrial sites. The project, which is coordinated by the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR) of the University of Porto, has the collaboration of INESC TEC’s Centre for Robotics and Autonomous Systems (CRAS). It is a solution that can be used as a first-line response to those incidents in a fast and efficient way in unfavourable meteorological conditions and low human intervention.

Unmanned autonomous vehicles will be adapted to this project as surface, aerial and underwater vehicles that are responsible for transporting and spilling microorganism in the affected areas in an autonomous and efficient way.

This initiative, which will last for 24 months, is funded by the European Union, through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and brings together partners such as CIIMAR, INESC TEC, the University of Vigo and the companies ACSM, Biotrend and MARLO.