Underwater mine exploring robot was designed in Porto

The mine exploring robot, planned in the context of the UNEXMIN project and the science-oriented programme Futuris was designed in Porto, at the Systems and Computer Engineering Institute of Porto (INESCTEC).

A team of scientists of several European countries, including Portugal, designed an autonomous underwater robot to explore flooded mines. There are thousands of immersed under water mines in Europe and some still hold industrial value. The robot that Portuguese Scientists helped design will enable investigators to explore and map these mines.

The robot is about 60cm in diameter and it works to an operating distance of 500 metres.

Thanks to the sonar technology, laser radars, cameras and sensors, it was possible to build a robot capable of finding its way in the surrounding environment.

 According to Portuguese investigators, one of the key aspects about the robot design was miniaturisation.

"We have a high computer performance at INESCTEC. The laser systems were developed here. We have developed the whole system and one of the key issues was miniaturisation", explained Alfredo Martins, Portuguese researcher and robotics expert from the Systems and Computer Engineering Institute of Porto (INESCTEC).

The main goal is to programme the robot to operate autonomously in a natural environment. The research team hopes that in a few months' time, the machine can get in and out of a mine on its own.

Besides exploring flooded mines, the robot can be used in relief operations and essential risk evaluation missions as well.