Abstract
Abandoned, Lost, or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) has a great impact on marine ecosystems. This is not only due to the direct contribution to marine litter production with particular emphasis on plastics but also to the effects of ghost fishing.The Nettag+ project aims to reduce these impacts by acting on three main lines of action: prevention, avoidance, and mitigation. In the first line, direct action and collaboration with fishers and nature protection organizations around Europe aim to establish the fishermen community as guardians of the ocean. These actions with active fishers' collaboration range from training and dissemination activities related to marine litter and ocean protection to direct measures in day-to-day work to minimize and recover litter from the sea.In the prevention line, an acoustic tag designed explicitly for the location of ALDFG was developed in collaboration with research institutions and fishing gear manufacturers. It can be integrated into the fishing equipment for future tracking and recovery. This tool can reduce lost fishing gear retrieval costs and is complemented with robotic solutions to support retrieving operations.To mitigate the effects of existing untagged ALDFG, multisensorial  detection algorithms are being developed to detect and map ALDFG on the sea and to take advantage of autonomous and robotic systems to perform this task.

Abstract
EMSO ERIC is a unique European distributed marine Research Infrastructure dedicated to the observation and study of the deep ocean in the long term in fixed regional areas. It provides different services of which access to its infrastructure by external users -engineers, scientists and researchers-, working both in the public and private sectors. The aim of this service, called physical access, is to facilitate access to instrumented platforms deployed at different sites across the European seas, from the seabed to the surface, in order to perform experiments in geosciences and engineering in real ocean conditions. Depending on the logistics and availability of each site, users may deploy their own platforms, instruments, systems or technologies to be tested by the existing equipment that, in this case, can provide reference measurements. Users may also deploy their own systems on the existing EMSO platforms, either in standalone mode or connected to them, receiving power and, in some cases, being able to transmit data by satellite or by cable, depending on the site. Projects requiring the use of several EMSO sites are also accepted. The host EMSO Regional Facility provides logistics and technical support in order to deploy and recover the systems, access the data and it may also offer training and co-development. EMSO ERIC launches the physical access call on a yearly basis and evaluates the received project proposals every two months. Access is free of charge and funding is available for travel, consumables, shipping, operations and hardware adaptations needed to run the project. Since 2022, when the first call was launched, ten projects with varied topics have been funded and are in different phases of execution.

Abstract
The deep ocean is vast and challenging to observe; however, it is key to knowledge of the sea and its impact on global climate. Fixed sea observing points (such as the EMSO observing nodes) provide a limited view and are complemented by expensive oceanographic campaigns with systems demanding high logistical requirements such as deep-sea ROVs.  These costs not only limit our capability for key ocean data collection in the deep but also introduce their own environmental costs.Emerging challenges in knowledge and pressure on the exploration of the deep ocean demand new technological solutions for monitoring and safeguarding the marine ecosystem.Innovative robotic technologies such as the TURTLE robotic deep-sea landers can combine long-term permanence at the seabed with mobility and dynamic reconfigurability in spatial and temporal deep-sea observation.Robotic systems of a heterogeneous nature (from conventional gliders, AUVs, or robotic landers) can be combined with standard and new sensing systems, such as bottom-deployed sensor nodes, moored systems, and cabled points when feasible.These systems can provide underwater localization services for the different assets, energy supply and high bandwidth data transfer with robotic docking stations for other mobile elements. An example of the synergy obtained with these new systems is the possibility of using robotic landers as carriers of EGIM (EMSO Generic Instrument Module) sensor payloads, providing power and data storage and flexibility in the deployment and recovery process.This approach, partly taken in the EU-funded Trident project to develop technical solutions for cost-effective and efficient observation of environmental impacts on deep seabed environments, allows for a substantial reduction in the operational and logistic requirements for deep-sea observation, greatly reducing the need for costly oceanographic campaigns or the use of expensive (economic and logistical) deep sea ROV systems.In this work, we present some of the new developments and discuss the transition from existing technological solutions to new ones integrating these recent developments.

Abstract
In this paper, we propose pre-and post-deployment guidelines for both single point current-meters and Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) to improve awareness of the quality, in terms of accuracy, of the data collected by these instruments among their user community. In the realm of oceanographic instrumentation, single-point current meters and ADCPs are considered to be a well understood and mature technology, however, to ensure that the measurements are not affected by biases due to magnetic anomalies or sensor drifts before and after their deployment, it is necessary to have an understanding of how the velocity vectors are derived from the measurements. Tests performed on three ADCP instruments show that heading errors of up to 10 degrees can be caused by instruments being deployed in the vicinity of the ADCP. In this paper, we will also investigate the consequences of not compensating for these biases in two oceanographic examples, one of them revealing 16% horizontal velocity errors in the worst case.

Abstract
There is a strong need to motivate students to learn science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. This is a problem not only at lower educational levels, but also at college institutions. With this idea in mind, the School of Engineering of the Porto Polytechnic (ISEP) Electrical Engineering Department decided, in 2021, to launch a robotics competition in order to foster students' interest in the areas of robotics and automation. This event, named Robotics@ISEP Open, aims to raise awareness of the area of electronics, computing, and robotics among students, involving them in the use of techniques and tools in this area, and encompasses three distinct robotics competitions covering both manipulator arms and mobile robots. It is based on two main points of interest: (i) robotic competitions and (ii) outside class training in robotics, aimed at students who want support to participate in competitions. Since its first edition, the event has grown and internationalized and has already become a milestone in the academic life of ISEP. This paper presents the motivations that led to the creation of this event, its main organizational aspects, and the competitions that are part of it, as well as some results gathered from the experience accumulated in organizing it.

Abstract
SENTINEL-Orb is an ongoing research and development initiative focused on creating a compact, fully autonomous flying robotic sphere. This sphere has been meticulously engineered to provide a comprehensive range of assistance to astronauts during both Extravehicular (EVA) and Intravehicular Activities (IVA). The system's design is intended to ensure operational effectiveness in microgravity and vacuum environments, thereby facilitating inspection, mapping, and navigation capabilities in areas that are either inaccessible or hazardous for human access. The development of the UX1-NEO system for flooded mine exploration was predicated on the advancement of underwater robotics technology pioneered at the Center for Robotics and Autonomous Systems (CRAS) of the Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC TEC). This technology enabled the miniaturization, modular design, and integration of advanced perception and control algorithms for the SENTINEL-Orb. The current prototype incorporates a safe propulsion system designed to ensure the well-being of astronauts, a translation and attitude control mechanism, and a high-resolution camera that enhances the visual-inertial odometry module for object detection and anomaly identification. The propulsion and control subsystems were tested independently, while the six degrees of freedom (6-DoF) control performance has been validated through high-fidelity simulations, demonstrating precise maneuvering capabilities. The platform's modular architecture facilitates straightforward assembly and accommodates future enhancements. Preparations are underway for a parabolic flight campaign to evaluate the complete system's performance in a real microgravity environment. Preliminary findings suggest that the design meets rigorous safety standards and has significant potential for operational autonomy in space missions. A comparison of SENTINEL-Orb to the existing robotic solutions reveals that it addresses limitations related to atmospheric dependency and astronaut safety. This establishes SENTINEL-Orb as a promising tool for space maintenance, inspection, and exploration activities. © 2025 by INESC-TEC.