(BV / 04-10-09) The Port of Gijón will host in mid- November this year a meeting to advance the development of “robotic fish” for environmental monitoring, promoted by community project R & D SHOAL, in which the Port Authority takes part, according to the decisions made at a meeting held by the consortium promoter at port offices at the Casa de Asturias in Brussels.

That meeting will be the first contact of communications experts from the French company Thales Safar, -another of the project consortium members-, to visit the Port of Gijón and identify suitable sites for installing the base station of the “robotic fish”, from which to conduct pilot tests of navigation for the environmental study and subsequent data transmission.

The project SHOAL has a budget of 4.2 million € and three years contract period. This research has attracted great interest not only in specialized circles in artificial intelligence from around the world but also in the international press.

The project consortium comprises the following partners: British Maritime Technologies, from UK; Thales Safare SA, France; Autoridad Portuaria de Gijón, Spain; National University of Cork, Ireland; and the British universities of Essex and Strathclyde.

SHOAL main objective is to design and develop a set of “robotic fishes” -equipped with electrochemical sensors and a complex and innovative underwater communication system- capable of detecting chemical contaminants dissolved in water.

The prototype is an innovative application based on a development that combines several existing technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence and rapid chemical analysis, which will allow monitoring the environment.

The project SHOAL will develop five “robotic fishes” capable of analyzing the water and communicate with each other, to produce a real-time environmental map, which will make easier the sampling and will lower the bill to pay, by reducing the number tasting necessary to get efficient results.

Thus, the model, having passed the test period, will reduce the current cost of these activities, set at 350 million euros per year for all European ports.

SHOAL will use two artificial intelligence techniques to control the “robotic fish”: mathematical optimization of “ant colonies”, and “hybrid ensembles of particles” to coordinate the activities of the group of “robotic fish” and to adjust quickly to changes in the marine environment.

Pilot testing of the “robotic fish” and its advanced control system and data analysis -to be tested in the port of Gijón, once the prototypes are built (between 2010 and 2011)- will allow to test the feasibility of the system as an exportable model for proactive monitoring of the quality of the port and adjacent waters.

After passing the test phase, it aims to become an effective system for monitoring chemical and ecological quality in port waters -but also in rivers- helping the port authorities to obey the European Directive 2005/35/EC on discharges from ships in port waters, as defined by international standard MARPOL.

Watch video on: http://demo.roboshoal.com/home/robotics