MARBLE team, led by Barbara Arbanas Ferreira (Head of Research) and Fausto Ferreira (Head of RSO), marked a significant presence at the European Robotics Forum (ERF) 2026 held March 23-27 in Stavanger, Norway. This premier event, which gathered over 1,000 leaders from the robotics and AI sectors, served as a platform for our team to showcase cutting-edge research in maritime autonomy and foster international collaborations. Our delegation was at the forefront of technical discussions, organizing, chairing and participating in high-impact workshops that addressed critical challenges in the blue economy:
- AI and Marine Robotics: an End-User Perspective on New Technologies
- Innovation and Developments in Robotic GNSS-Denied Localisation for Inspection & Maintenance
- Unlocking Resilient Telerobotic Operations for Critical Maritime Infrastructure and Port Automation
The highlight of the forum was the recognition of our scientific contributions in the Scientific Track, where the team received the Best Paper Award. The winning paper, titled “Hierarchical LLM-Driven Mission Planning for Heterogeneous Maritime Robot Teams,” was co-authored by Thi Tran, Fausto Ferreira, and Barbara Arbanas Ferreira.
Beyond the award-winning research, our leadership contributed to the broader robotics community; Fausto Ferreira participated in the “Nature’s New Allies” session, exploring how robotics can be leveraged for environmental conservation, further solidifying MARBLE’s commitment to sustainable and innovative maritime technology.
