001 / The challenge

From reactive monitoring to autonomous, data-driven protection.

Natural and coastal areas need persistent surveillance, hazard detection, and rapid response. Conventional monitoring is reactive, manual, and limited by what human teams can cover. Climate, fire, pollution, and unauthorised activity now move faster than the systems that watch them.

002 / The approach

Surface, ground, and aerial vehicles, coordinated as one system.

ARTEMIS develops a green, autonomous multi-robot system for the continuous monitoring and protection of natural and coastal areas. Autonomous surface (ASV), ground (UGV), and uncrewed aerial (UAV) vehicles work as a coordinated platform.

The system delivers persistent, large-area coverage by combining aerial mapping, surface and ground mobility, and intelligent perception. Robots autonomously detect events (fires, pollution, unauthorised activity), inspect areas of interest, and perform basic intervention tasks such as collecting objects. Renewable energy, autonomous recharging, and secure communications keep the system operational across long missions.

MARBLE's contribution.

MARBLE leads the development of maritime autonomy and control, including ASV navigation, situational awareness, and coordination between ASVs and UAVs. Validation runs through MARBLE's pilot sites and maritime infrastructure.

003 / Outcomes

What ARTEMIS is building.

A working multi-robot system capable of long-term, low-impact environmental surveillance across heterogeneous domains. Demonstrated detection of hazards (fire, pollution, unauthorised activity). Operational autonomy across surface, ground, and aerial vehicles, integrated into a single coordinated platform. Pathway from research demonstrators to deployable environmental monitoring capability.

004 / Partners & funding

Partners & funding.

Coordinator: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (UNIZG-FER).

Research partners: Centre of Excellence MARBLE, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Maritime Studies.

Industry partners: ISKRA brodogradilište 1 d.o.o., Visage Technologies d.o.o., DOK-ING d.o.o.

Funding programme: National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Croatia, DIGIT programme (Digital, Innovation and Green Technology). Funding ministry: Ministry of Science, Education and Youth.

Total project value €5,506,826.90; MARBLE budget €0.49 million. Timeline: 2025 → 2028.