K2D
Knowledge and Data from the Deep to the Space Robotics
Description
K2D is a flagship project of the MIT Portugal programme – part of the international partnerships that the Portuguese Government established with North American research institutions. It ended in 2023 and the focus was on the development of a global and disruptive ocean monitoring system using underwater cables, capable of operating at different depths – from the deep sea and abyssal platforms to the surface.
In earth systems, oceans represent an important element of equalization and normal functioning. Nowadays oceans are believed to represent perhaps the most important contribution to the current balance between all earth elements for a healthy and sustainable earth global system. However, oceans remain as the most remote and unexplored frontier among all earth elements. Oceanatmospheric interactions are nowadays believed to be at the heart of all earth vital signs and climatic behaviors, and therefore are essential to an accurate monitoring and understanding of earth systems, their changes and the results of human impacts. As the continuous acceleration of human systems complexity is expected, novel and disruptive ways to tackle this major challenge are urgent. K2D addresses this challenge by proposing the development of a synergistic set of components, including electronic components and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, that permit the cost-effective gathering of extensive and complete data from the oceans, including physical, chemical, biological and environmental variables.
For that purpose acoustic information and environmental DNA will be combined, as well as advanced Geoinformatics modeling hybridized with Artificial Intelligence tools to enrich geospatial and temporal information models to describe and anticipate oceans health patterns and human activities, mostly the ones more prone to hazards and extreme events. To close the loop, the same Geostatistics models can be used to create a continuum from deep-see to near space, by integrating remote sensing and satellite information describing earth global systems in a holistic manner.
Scientific Advances
In September 2023, the installation of the second prototype of a smart underwater cable (two km long) took place in the vicinity of the Port of Sesimbra, in the open sea and at depths greater than 100 meters – with the support of the Portuguese Navy. The research and development of the three sets of sensors that are installed along the cable to gather real-time data was carried out by INESC TEC, CINTAL and the University of Minho. As in the case of the first prototype, the installation of the K2D system took place during the largest operational exercise of unmanned systems in the world, REP(MUS) 2023.
In earth systems, oceans represent an important element of equalization and normal functioning. Nowadays oceans are believed to represent perhaps the most important contribution to the current balance between all earth elements for a healthy and sustainable earth global system. However, oceans remain as the most remote and unexplored frontier among all earth elements. Oceanatmospheric interactions are nowadays believed to be at the heart of all earth vital signs and climatic behaviors, and therefore are essential to an accurate monitoring and understanding of earth systems, their changes and the results of human impacts. As the continuous acceleration of human systems complexity is expected, novel and disruptive ways to tackle this major challenge are urgent. K2D addresses this challenge by proposing the development of a synergistic set of components, including electronic components and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, that permit the cost-effective gathering of extensive and complete data from the oceans, including physical, chemical, biological and environmental variables.
For that purpose acoustic information and environmental DNA will be combined, as well as advanced Geoinformatics modeling hybridized with Artificial Intelligence tools to enrich geospatial and temporal information models to describe and anticipate oceans health patterns and human activities, mostly the ones more prone to hazards and extreme events. To close the loop, the same Geostatistics models can be used to create a continuum from deep-see to near space, by integrating remote sensing and satellite information describing earth global systems in a holistic manner.
Scientific Advances
In September 2023, the installation of the second prototype of a smart underwater cable (two km long) took place in the vicinity of the Port of Sesimbra, in the open sea and at depths greater than 100 meters – with the support of the Portuguese Navy. The research and development of the three sets of sensors that are installed along the cable to gather real-time data was carried out by INESC TEC, CINTAL and the University of Minho. As in the case of the first prototype, the installation of the K2D system took place during the largest operational exercise of unmanned systems in the world, REP(MUS) 2023.
