“20 years ago, people thought we were lunatics”

José Luís Cacho (APFF), Miguel Marques (PwC), Paulo Inácio (captain), and Joaquim Sotto Maior (coordinator of the port authority) were some of the experts to attend the initiative and participate in a “class” on aquatic robotics, taught by Aníbal Matos, university professor and researcher at INESC TEC, one of the three teams in Portugal working in this area. These teams are currently involved in the European project ICARUS, a project that puts robotics at the service of search and rescue operations.

At the event, Aníbal Matos explained how robotics is changing the way we explore the sea, not only for economic profit, but also to improve our knowledge of the ocean. The aquaculture sector, as well as the oil and hydroelectric sectors, are also relying on this technology that is increasingly portable and autonomous in terms of energy and terrain mapping. “Portugal is in a leading position, even if we don’t have the type of investment that, say, Norway has,” the researcher states. “In the 1990s, there was a tremendous investment in training and internationalisation,” he adds. “Twenty years ago people thought we were lunatics,” he confessed. But today there are no doubts: “the future is the sea,” and robotics, in a multidisciplinary context, is one of the most important areas.

The next edition of “Soltar Amarras” will take place on 11 March.

Diário de Coimbra, 14 February 2015