Doctoral Contract in Multi-objective Adaptive Trajectory Planning with Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

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AZTI's purpose is to drive positive change for the future of people, contributing to a healthy, sustainable, and integral society. And you can be part of this challenge.

From the Sustainable Fisheries Technologies (TPS) and Coastal Engineering and Operational Oceanography (ICOO) teams, we are looking for a person to carry out a Doctoral Thesis at AZTI on "Multi-objective adaptive trajectory planning with autonomous underwater vehicles for the optimization of oceanographic and fisheries campaigns."

The selected candidate will apply to the IKERTALENT 2026 - training grants for research and technology personnel in the scientific-technological and business field of the agricultural, fisheries, and food sector. In this case, it is a grant program for researchers in training (PhD) with a duration of 4 years.

Thesis title: Multi-objective adaptive trajectory planning with autonomous underwater vehicles for the optimization of oceanographic and fisheries campaigns.

Project tutors at AZTI: Jaime Valls, Anna Rubio.

Center: AZTI Sukarrieta; (Pasaia headquarters to be assessed).

The objective of the project is the development of advanced methodologies for the optimization of oceanographic campaigns through the use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), specifically gliders or autonomous underwater gliders, to improve energy efficiency, adaptability, and the scientific impact of observations made with gliders and their interaction with complementary autonomous surface robots (USVs). The project is situated at the interface between marine robotics, trajectory optimization for autonomous navigation, observational oceanography, and fisheries oceanography.

These robots operate independently, following pre-programmed trajectories that they must adapt to deal, in real time, with the variable oceanographic conditions they encounter on their way. The developed approaches must allow the observation strategy to be adjusted to the temporal dynamics of ocean processes and the measured variables, for example, in the specific case of sampling during rapidly evolving coastal events. Likewise, operational requirements linked to the measurement of certain processes or the use of specific sensors, such as those intended for acoustics or turbulence, will be integrated into mission planning, and coordinated operation in multi-agent environments with several gliders and/or autonomous surface vehicles will be studied.

Finally, the integration of gliders and USVs into traditional oceanographic and fisheries campaigns will be explored, in order to complement sampling carried out from scientific vessels, expand the spatio-temporal coverage of observations, and reduce operating costs and environmental impact. The research will thus contribute to the development of new marine monitoring strategies based on autonomous platforms, high-resolution data, and multi-platform observation systems.

For the development of the thesis, there will be access to different autonomous platforms, including USVs, gliders, and ROVs, as well as vessels equipped with advanced fisheries and oceanography sensors. The operational oceanography system of the Basque coast, EuskOOs, will also provide information on environmental variables, including currents and hydrographic and biogeochemical variables, coming from different observation platforms, such as oceanographic satellites and in situ systems, including an HF radar. Fisheries data from oceanographic sampling campaigns carried out in the Bay of Biscay will also be available.

The results may be integrated into existing operational infrastructures such as POA (Pasaia Ocean Autonomy), an ocean observation infrastructure that integrates gliders and other autonomous marine systems from a multi-platform approach to develop new marine monitoring services, including applications related to ecosystem assessment, fisheries resource monitoring, and decision support.

The project will also offer a training environment in the handling of AUVs, USVs, and oceanographic sensors, robotic marine simulators, advanced trajectory planning, and spatio-temporal optimization of sampling strategies. Training will be complemented by participation in international networks, collaboration with specialists in marine autonomy, operational oceanography, and fisheries assessment, as well as the possibility of undertaking stays at international reference centers and participating in international congresses and workshops.