Website: grvc.us.es
Description of the organization
The University of Seville (USE) created in the early 16th century is one of the most important higher education institutions in Spain, with 70,000 students, 4,400 professors, and 2,400 administrative and service staff. USE has as third party AICIA for the administrative and financial management of costs. USE will be involved in the project through the GRVC Robotics laboratory, which has more than 75 researchers and engineers with strong expertise on robotics and particularly on aerial robotics. Thus, in 2019 the group participated in 12 European projects, 2 Spanish projects and 8 contracts with companies, related to aerial robotics and unmanned aerial systems. GRVC has a long tradition coordinating and participating in projects of the EU Framework Programmes (FP) including 4 projects of the FP4, 3 of the FP5, 3 of the FP6 and 5 of FP7.
The GRVC Robotics Laboratory at the University of Seville (https://grvc.us.es) combines Research with Technology Innovation and applications with companies.
In addition of AERIAL-CORE, it is working on the European Research Council Advanced Grant GRIFFIN, developing a new generation of bio-inspired aerial manipulators, safer and with longer endurance than traditional multi-rotorsystems, combining flapping and fixed wing capabilities with autonomous perching and manipulation. Moreover participates in many H2020 projects such as HYFLIERS, where hybrid (aerial and ground) robots for industrial inspection and maintenance are being applied, RESIST applying aerial robotic technologies to the inspection of tunnels and bridges, MULTIDRONE on multiple UAVs for filming applications, ARIESS dealing with Augmented Reality and Indoor Navigation for Enhanced assembly in aeronautic industries, the SESAR SAFEDRONE and the Galileo GAUSS where intelligent navigation and coordination of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles are applied, TERRINET on robotic infrastructures, AEROTWIN on aerial robotics cooperation, the RIMA Digital Innovation Hub on robotic inspection and maintenance, and others.
GRVC was, until August 2019, the Coordinator of the successful H2020 AEROARMS project, where developed new aerial robotic manipulation technologies that were demonstrated in oil and gas industries and in cement factories. The head of the GRVC was the coordinator of ARCAS that played a main role in the emergence of the aerial manipulation developing aerial robot arms that can be considered the firsts in the world, and also the coordinator of the EC-SAFEMOBIL developing new techniques to increase the safety of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and the landing on mobile platform with both autonomous helicopters and fixed wing Unmanned Aerial Systems.
GRVC also coordinated the successful FP7 AWARE IST that developed and validated in field experiments a platform providing the functionalities required for the cooperation of UAVs with ground wireless networks, and demonstrated for the first time worldwide the joint load transportation by means of three coupled helicopters. The GRVC laboratory has been also the Scientific and Technical Coordinator of the FP5 COMETS IST project, on the coordination and control of multiple heterogeneous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), the first project in Europe demonstrating experimentally the cooperation of multiple UAVs with application to forest fires. GRVC was also the Associated Coordinator of the FP7 CONET Network of Excellence and the FP7 PLANET project both dealing with the integration of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with Wireless Sensors and Actuator Networks. It also developed methods and technologies for aerial robotic navigation and co-working with humans in the ARCOW European Robotic Challenges (FP7 EUROC).
In Spain GRVC is working on two Research Retos Projects (ARM-EXTEND and ARTIC) of the Spanish Ministry, also devoted to aerial manipulation, as well as in 8 contract with industries dealing mainly with aerial robotics for inspection and maintenance.
Involved Staffs
Aníbal Ollero, Silvia de los Santos (CTA), Guillermo Heredia, Ramiro Martínez de Dios, Begoña Arrúe, Joaquín Ferruz, Iván Maza, Angel Rodriguez, Jesús Capitán, Jose Angel Acosta, Manuel Béjar (UPO), Alejandro Suárez, Augusto Gómez, Daniel Feliu, Pedro Grau y Victor Vega.
Role in the AERIAL-CORE project and main tasks
USE is the coordinator entity of the AERIAL-CORE project being leader of WP1 (management) and WP6 (Cognitive Safe and Accurate Aerial Manipulation), and contributing in all the Work-packages.