The EU fishing sector faces various challenges. The European shipbuilding industry accounts for 10% of the world’s production. EU’s fishing fleet is moving toward increasingly sustainable fishing systems and toward creating an intelligent blue economy. Marine pollution exert significant pressure on the conservation and health of the oceans and their flora and fauna; and work to monitor and control these activities cannot be carried out because of the capabilities and cost of current technology (costs could be reduced 80-fold). UAV/drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) technology is an emerging technology with a number of applications, and is not being used in the fishing and maritime monitoring sectors because no efficient solutions have yet been found (solutions that meet needs, contexts and user requirements). The reduced number of legal flight limitations of drones in marine environments is an advantage that could be exploited to incorporate this technology in support of fishing activities and in tasks related to monitoring and control, in turn boosting the European drone and shipbuilding industries. At Fuvex we have developed an unmanned hybrid (airplane-multirotor) aircraft (protected by patent), with vertical take-off/landings on any flat surface and efficient cruise mode, with twice the level of autonomy in comparison to helicopters/multirotors and an average reduction of 50% of costs compared to other drone solutions on the market; it offers specific solutions and applications for the fisheries sector (cost reductions >78%), marine and coastal surveillance and control (cost reductions >95%), and search for marine resources. The global UAV drone market is expected to reach USD 5.59 billion by 2020, at an estimated CAGR of 32.22% between 2016 and 2020. Fuvex is addressing a SAM (Served Available Market)> €335 million. The objective of this phase 1 is to complete a feasibility study to find out the workability and profitability of the business venture.

The main objective of AERIAL-CORE is the development of core technology modules and an integrated aerial cognitive robotic system that will have unprecedented capabilities on the operational range and safety in the interaction with people, or Aerial Co-Workers (ACW), for applications such as the inspection and maintenance of large infrastructures. The project will integrate aerial robots with different characteristics to meet the requirements of: (1) Long range (several kilometres) and local very accurate (subcentimetre) inspection of the infrastructure capability; (2) Maintenance activities based on aerial manipulation involving force interactions; and (3) Aerial co-working safely and efficiently helping human workers in inspection and maintenance. AERIAL-CORE technology modules will be based on Cognitive Mechatronics and apply cognitive capabilities to aerial morphing in order to combine long range endurance and hovering for local observations, manipulation involving force interactions, and co-working with humans. The project will develop: (1) Cognitive functionalities for aerial robots including perception based on novel sensors, such as event cameras, and data fusion techniques, learning, reactivity, fast on-line planning, and teaming; (2) Aerial platforms with morphing capabilities, to save energy in long range flights and perform a very accurate inspection; (3) Cognitive aerial manipulation capabilities, including manipulation while flying, while holding with one limb, and while hanging or perching to improve accuracy and develop greater forces; (4) Cognitive safe aerial robotic co-workers capable of physical interaction with people; and (5) Integrated aerial robotic system for the inspection and maintenance of large infrastructures. The system will be demonstrated in electrical power system inspection and maintenance, which is an application with a huge economic impact that also has implications in the safety of workers and in wildlife conservation.