Anders Christensen and Sancho Oliveira, both researchers from IT, have been developing a team of robot-boats that can detect fishery resources as well as contaminants. This has awaken the attention of Exame Informática Magazine, which published an article about the Ocean Swarm project in its September issue.

Here is just a short version of what the project is about: the boat prototypes gathered in a swarm, are meant to operate in a cooperative basis, communicating with each other wirelessly. Individually, each boat has limited ability: the purpose is that working together they can accomplish complex missions.

Focusing at the beginning in the fishing industry, this option can bring fishing companies a much less expensive and much more effective way to find shoals of fish and guarantee saving time and money.

This is just a short demonstration of what these "swarms" are able to do. Well equipped, they can be a precious tool even on marine patrolling.

Short exercises were carried out with the Portuguese Navy. In the near future, these “swarms” are supposed to work on security, rescuing and mapping tasks, or even help on the extension of the marine area.

The researchers are confident that, from what’s now just a scientific project, a start-up will emerge.