Autonomous robots for inspection and monitoring of the environment

The Interreg Aurora funded project AUTONOMIC introduces autonomous inspection and monitoring of the environment to promote sustainable development in northern regions. A team of mobile robots navigate in harsh, remote areas of arctic and sub-arctic climates with the aid of intelligent perception and decision making. The robotic system will be equipped with advanced tools enabling them for safe collection the samples of soil, water, ice, and snow from hard-to-reach, cluttered, and fragile locations. The goal is to collect environmental samples year-round for analysis, identifying pollution levels and tracking nutrient and carbon movements in runoff waters or soil during snowmelt, across multiple areas. This will create a map with spatiotemporal information, pinpointing affected areas tagged with intensity levels. Such a map, along with environmental digital-twin models, would enable futuristic predictions of ecological states and assist in planning high-level actions for sustainable ecosystem development while preserving biodiversity effectively.

Project website: https://www.interregaurora.eu/approved-projects/autonomic/