The team that developed TriMARES included researchers from INESC Technology and Science (INESC TEC) and the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP). The small submarine was commissioned by a Brazilian consortium to explore the Lajeado dam in Brazil. The vehicle was sent to Brazil in July last year and various tests are currently being conducted.

“The project will be ready in about 18 months” states Nuno Alexandre Cruz, one of the researchers responsible for the construction of TriMARES. He explains that there are certain processes that require time. “Now we have concluded the first stage (building the vehicle) and the vehicle is in Brazil, the team that commissioned TriMARES must now install a range of sensors and program databases to collect and store the information obtained under the water and they need our help to understand how the vehicle works”, he explains.  

The Portuguese team conducted training sessions in Brazil in September and both counties are constantly communicating. “As planned, three Brazilian researchers came here to collect information and the next step will be for us to visit Brazil again next month”, he adds. 

The small vehicle is 1.3metres long and 80cm wide and can work autonomously for around 10 hours and cover up to 40 kilometres. It is classified as a hybrid vehicle.

“It can be programmed to carry out specific tasks and travel from one place to another without intervention from an operator. It can also be connected to an optical fibre cable to see the images, videos and sonar data collected in real-time”, he states.

Luso-Brazilian partnership stands strong

The Brazilian team, led by the Federal de Juiz de Fora University, had already heard of the work developed by researchers at INESC TEC and decided to commission this work. Nuno Cruz states that the feedback has been quite positive and declares that, “we already have another order for another submarine for another project with the same team”.

TriMARES was built by a Portuguese team and is the first of its kind in the world. Nuno Cruz confirms that everyone involved is very proud. “The fact that our idea has been chosen really shows its value but it also gives us a lot of responsibility”, he adds.

Despite only being put into action in 2013, the project has already won the Best of 2011 in the Innovation category for the “Exame Informática” magazine. The creators hope this will be a move towards investing more in Portuguese technology.

JornalismoPortoNet, 3rd April 2012