First tests of a subsea robot set to be integrated into the OBSEA observatory to monitor the seabed and create a digital twin
One of the project researchers preparing the robot for submersion at the port of Vilanova i la Geltrú.
The robot was lowered into the water to check its operation before integration into the underwater OBSEA observatory.
On 19 November, researchers from the UPC’s Technological Development Centre for Remote Acquisition and Data Processing Systems began the initial testing of a robot designed to monitor the seabed at the port of Vilanova i la Geltrú. They aim to develop a digital twin of the Vilanova coastline to characterise species, monitor large predator communities and understand how they interact with the rest of the marine ecosystems for the purpose of better managing and restoring these ecosystems.
Dec 16, 2025
The robot tested at the port of Vilanova i la Geltrú on 19 November is a large, caterpillar-type device equipped with cameras to visualise marine species; several types of sensors to control biogeochemical parameters, such as chlorophyll, light intensity, salinity and temperature; and a robotic arm to collect samples.
This robot will be integrated into the OBSEA observatory to expand the monitoring range of this observatory located 20 metres deep and 4 kilometres off the coast of Vilanova i la Geltrú, and thus develop a digital twin as part of the Digi4Eco project (Digital Twin-Sustained 4D Ecological Monitoring of Restoration in Fishery Depleted Areas). Funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme, the project also aims to support the restoration of marine areas affected by environmental stress and human activities by collecting data to better understand the dynamic changes in ecosystems.
The technological part of the pilot test being developed in Vilanova is led by researchers Daniel Mihai Toma and Joaquín del Rio, from the Technological Development Centre for Remote Acquisition and Data Processing Systems (SARTI), which is affiliated with the Vilanova i la Geltrú School of Engineering (EPSEVG) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC). The entire DIGI4ECO project is led by the Institute of Marine Sciences (IC-CSIC).
Restoring marine ecosystems
This initiative is creating a four-dimensional (4D) ecological monitoring system based on digital twins and networks of robotic platforms. This system will allow for a digital representation of the ocean and its bio-ecological processes by integrating both historical and real-time data to improve the management and restoration of marine ecosystems.
The DIGI4ECO project involves recovering relevant, unanalysed historical data (sleeping data) while also obtaining new data thanks to the use of robots and underwater observatories, such as the one to be installed at OBSEA. This will make it possible to characterise the species living in the analysed locations, monitor large predator communities and understand how they interact with the rest of the marine ecosystems. Finally, using geostatistical procedures, the information from specific points will be scaled up to regional areas.
Apart from Vilanova i la Geltrú, which is the only location in Spain, the project will also conduct test pilots in Ancona (Italy), Kristineberg (Sweden) and Galway (Ireland). The initiative involves 18 partners from 10 European countries, working together to improve the conservation status of European marine habitats in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.