The new project “Heterogeneous autonomous robotic system in viticulture and mariculture (HEKTOR)” commenced on 13 March 2020 . It is a three-year project funded by European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), and coordinated by the University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing with Prof. Zdenko Kovacic as Project Leader. Project partners are University of Dubrovnik (Institute for Marine and Coastal Research) and University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture . Two UNIZG-FER laboratories are involed in the implementation of the project – Laboratory for Robotics and Intelligent Control Systems (LARICS) and Laboratory for Underwater Systems and Technologies (LABUST) . The main objective of HEKTOR project is to provide a systematic solution for the coordination and cooperation of smart heterogeneous robots/vehicles (marine, land and air) capable of autonomously collaborating and distributing tasks in open unstructured space/waters. HEKTOR is conceived as a modular and autonomous system, adapted for various missions in viticulture and mariculture with the anticipated possibility of human intervention while performing various work, inspection and intervention tasks.

In line with recommendation given by National Civil Protection Headquarters and Croatian Institute of Public Health, and in order to mitigate the spread of coronavirus disease, DroneDays 2020 is postoned until further notice. New dates have yet to be determined.

LARICS team particiapted in the international robotics competition MBZIRC held from 23 to 27 February 2020. The Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge ( MBZIRC ) is a biennial international robotics competition, organized by  Khalifa University . The competition is held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and is intended to be an ambitious and challenging set of tasks that aims to inspire innovative robotics solutions and technical excellence. LARICS team for the MBZIRC2020 was led by Frano Petric with supervision of professors Stjepan Bogdan and Matko Orsag, and consists of LARICS’ PhD students: Barbara Arbanas, Marko Car, Antun Ivanovic, Marsela Polic, Ivan Hrabar, Ivo Vatavuk, Lovro Markovic, Ana Batinovic, Antonella Barisic, Robert Milijas and Marko Krizmancic. Being the robotics laboratory, LARICS decided to do the challenges autonomously. Read all about LARICS' participation at MBZIRC at  http://larics-mbzirc.fer.hr/index.php/mbzirc2020/

Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing had the honour to host a two-day regional workshop 'Space powering the Green Deal and the Digital Economy' that was co-organised with European Space Agency (ESA) and Croatian Ministry of Science and Education. The workshop took place on 5 and 6 March 2020 and welcomed more than 200 participants and national and international experts from the public and private sector that held more than 20 lectures on different topics related to space technologies, Earth observation data, and environmental protection. This workshop was a unique opportunity for Croatian researchers and interested public to exchange information and ideas with European experts to define further steps in strenghtening cooperation and explore opportunities for Croatian industry to become actively involved in ESA's programs and projects. Photos are available in the Gallery .

Prof. Zdenko Kovacic attended European Robotics Forum (ERF) that was held 3-5 March 2020 in Malaga, Spain . Prof. Kovačić joined AeRoTwin project partners from the University of Seville , José Ramiro Martinéz de Dios, and Silvia de los Santos from Technological Corporation of Andalusia in promoting AeRoTwin project, attending lectures and workshops, and networking. This was the 11th Annual European Robotics Forum ‘Future Robotics: Unlocking Human Potential’ hosted by Trade Fair and Congress Centre of Malaga (FYCMA). This iconic event put Spain at the heart of Europe’s most influential forum for robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). More about ERF 2020 at https://www.eu-robotics.net/robotics_forum/press/malaga-inspires-erf202.html

The H2020 project "Twinning coordination action for spreading excellence in Aerial Robotics - AeRoTwin" and Laboratory for Robotics and Intelligent Control Systems - LARICS invite you to the lecture  "Human-robot collaboration to extend space missions through telerobotics"  by  Dr. Neal Y. Lii from the  German Aerospace Center (DLR) . The lecture which will be held on 6 March 2020 at 09:40 in the Auditorium Hall at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, Zagreb, Croatia. The lecture will be held within European Space Agency (ESA)- Croatia regional workshop 'Space powering the Green Deal and the Digital Economy'. More about the speaker and the talk can be found  here .

On Saturday, 1 February 2020, LARICS members Marko Križmančić, Robert Milijaš and Antonella Barišić hosted around 20 second-grade students from the Elementary School Ksaver Šandor Gjalski in the LARICS lab. The students had the opportunity to see LARICS' robots operate, and to learn about their functionalities in a simple and interesting way. The students also learned about different types of robots, how they move and perceive the world around them. Robot arm Franka was giving out candy and picking up items which caused a lot of excitement. The students got to operate spheric robots Sphero and walking robots STEMI using a mobile phone application. The students had most fun interacting with the dancing humanoid robot Pepper . They also expressed great interest in UAVs and remote controlling. Everyone learned a lot of new things and the hosts had a difficult task answering all the questions. Check out photos and students' drawings inspired by the visit in the Gallery . 

LARICS members attended the three-day Robotics Fair 2020 in Ljubljana that took place from 11th to 13th February 2020. Robotics is an international trade fair dedicated to industrial robotics and unmanned systems. The event offers the exhibitors a platform for presenting their range of robot technologies in both industrial and service robots sectors. The Fair was organised by ICM Slovenia . LARICS members attended the event as representatives of three UNIZG FER laboratories: LARICS, LABUST and LAMOR, under the common brand ROBOTICS FER, next to some of the top tech companies in this field. The visitors had an opportunity to learn about current projects of UNIZG FER's laboratories', their research, innovations and equipment. All the exhibitors also had excellent opportunities to strengthen their image, increase brand awareness and establish new business relationships. The content-rich accompanying programme included roundtable discussions, presentations and workshops.