Mobility Activities

During the execution of the SMARTSEA MSc program, three mobility periods were carried out (Figure 1). For the first two periods (A and B; 14 days), students and educators traveled to the University of Ljubljana (FMTS) and to the International Hellenic University (IHU) to participate in large-scale laboratories. The third period (C; 1 month) was reserved for the student industrial experience.

For the 1-month practice, students did split into four groups and installed the SMARTSEA demonstrators at the four end-users part of the SMARTSEA consortium:

• Two Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicles (ROUVs) at the surveying companies: Rina Hellas S.A. (RINA) and Creocean (CREO).
• The Internet of Things (IoT) ship condition monitoring system at the shipping organisations: Maritime University of Szczecin (MUS) and Danaos Shipping Company Ltd. (DRC).

Figure 1. SMARTSEA program schedule after the amendment submitted to EACEA (where the mobility periods were rescheduled due to the travel restriction caused by the COVID pandemic).

Figure 2. SMARTSEA program development progress

IHU and FMTS deployed the demonstrators set for use in the course. Later, student teams during the learning mobility periods A and B received the respective sensing/measuring equipment and began the installation of sensors and instrumentation for data acquisition, according to the experimentation specifications. The demonstrators are connected to the Internet, and live data streaming is available through the SMARTSEA e-Learning platform. The two ROUV demonstrators were manufactured at IHU laboratory and the AR-based vessel sensing IoT system at the FMTS facilities, where the students prepared them during their 14-day learning mobility periods.

The description and functionality of the demonstrators’ full details are portrayed in this task. Two kind of demonstrators, a Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROUV) and an Augmented Reality (AR)/Internet of Things (IoT) ship condition monitoring system, will be specially manufactured to present several educational opportunities for the students to investigate the overall functionality at the product level and participate actively, in groups, in a range of real-life instrumentation and control needs. Then, during the industrial placement students installed the demonstrators at the four end-users.
During the training at Creocean La Seyne (France), the contents of the courses given by the Creocean experts were the following: Initiation to Mediterranean ecology; The French and European regulations in coastal developments; Definition of the need for environmental tools and sensors for offshore aquaculture farms; Initiation to project management during the design of an underwater mapping tool; What are the technical areas to be developed as well as the main difficulties encountered in the development of this tool?; The use of underwater acoustics in coastal and offshore ecology and the upcoming developments in this field.
Field visits were organised within the framework of this training: In a research institute on aquaculture and environment; With an NGO for a field training on Mediterranean ecology in a national reserve; The practice of snorkelling in a protected site; The test of the ROUV developed by the students in the marina of Coudoulière.

During the training at Rina Hellas S.A, students attended the Posidonia 2022 International Exhibition, and visited the ‘Athena’ training centre and the RINA office, where they were presented with the RINACube (own developed digital platform) and the Fleet Operating Centre (RINA’s state-of-the-art ship operation centre). Students participated in various certified seminars and workshops: (i) ‘Ship Classification and Statutory Certification’, an introductory course for basic knowledge concerning class rules and international and national statutory regulations; (ii) ‘Ship Energy Efficiency’, including an introduction and overview of the environmental regulatory framework and IMO greenhouse reduction strategy; (iii) ‘Inventory of Hazardous Materials – Development and Maintenance’, including Ship Recycling Regulations & Application, best practice guidance on the development and maintenance of the IHM, Surveys and Certificates.

During the training at the Maritime University of Szczecin, the students had the opportunity to get acquainted with the IoT system installed on the ship Navigator XXI, take measurements on their own on the available devices, and then proceed to analyse the collected data. Classes were held on the Navigator XXI ship, floating Hydrograf laboratory and the MUS laboratories.

During the Danaos Shipping Company Ltd. training, students attended the 2022 Posidonia Exhibition Event, a Welcome Introduction of DRC Shipping Company followed, and various seminars and presentations related to the IoT, Optimization Models and Simulations were executed. One of the most interesting seminars was the ‘’cybersecurity awareness in shipping’’, a practical introduction to the digital transition in shipping, presenting emerging technologies and an overview of the relevant legislation, as well as the new cyber threats to shipping. The seminar was organized by HELMEPA, and two Representatives of DRC participated as speakers. Furthermore, the students had the opportunity to join the kick-off meeting event of the EU-funded Project ‘’DT4GS’’ (Digital twin for green shipping). Also, they visited the Simulation Room on the 4th floor of the DRC building, getting familiarised with the Digital Safe Navigation Concept.
Below are some pictures of the equipment used in FMTS during the first mobility period (A) and the students working on the deployment of the demonstrator.

Below are some pictures of the equipment used in IHU during the second mobility period (B) and the students working on the deployment of the demonstrator.