The WatchPlant project is being presented at the EIC Summit 2025, held on April 2–3 in Brussels, among a selected group of leading European innovation initiatives.

Matko Križmančić is representing the project at the summit, participating in discussions with stakeholders from research, innovation, and policy sectors.

More about the event:
🔗 EIC Summit 2025

Students and professors from Prva gimnazija Varaždin (PGV), covering all four high school grade levels, recently visited the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) in Zagreb, with a special focus on the work of the Laboratory for Robotics and Intelligent Control Systems (LARICS).

The visit featured engaging lectures and demonstrations by LARICS researchers. Robert Milijaš, M.Eng., showcased some of the advanced equipment used in their ongoing robotics research, while Associate Professor Tamara Petrović, PhD, delivered a captivating lecture on multi-robot systems.

The highlight of the visit was a live demonstration by researchers Marijana Peti, M.Eng., and Marin Maletić, M.Eng., who flew small aerial vehicles in front of the students, offering a real-world look at robotics in action.

This visit aimed to inspire students and spark greater interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It was co-financed by the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth through the Innovative STEM Learning for a Digital Future project, carried out in collaboration between PGV and FER, as well as through the Interreg projects HyEfRe and Danube Indeet.

Prof. Stjepan Bogdan recently visited DTU Electro and the MARS Lab, where he gave a seminar on multi-agent systems and participated in academic activities.

In addition to the seminar, Prof. Bogdan also served as a distinguished member of the PhD evaluation committee for Dr. Tong Hui’s PhD defense, which focused on enhancing the physical interaction capabilities of aerial robots. The committee consisted of:

• Prof. Stjepan Bogdan (University of Zagreb)
• Prof. H. Jin Kim (Seoul National University)
• Prof. Roberto Galeazzi (DTU)

Congratulations to Dr. Tong Hui on successfully defending her PhD!

Assoc. Prof. Matko Orsag and PhD student Jelena Vuletić will participate in the IEEE RoboSoft 2025 conference, which will be held in Lausanne, Switzerland, from April 23–26, 2025.

The paper, titled "DEGAS - Deformation Estimation based on Magnetic Gradiometer Measurements for Soft Structure", is co-authored by Jelena Vuletić, Bruno Marić, and Matko Orsag. It explores an innovative approach to deformation estimation using magnetic gradiometers, contributing to advancements in soft robotics.

Students Leticija Crnković and Antonio Čogelja will also be participating in the RoboSoft 2025 competition.

A video demonstration of their work can be found here.

More about the conference: RoboSoft 2025

On March 6, 2025, Assoc. Prof. Tamara Petrović from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing participated in the Women’s Weekend conference in Rijeka, contributing to the "Equality for an Innovative Europe" panel.

Held at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka’s Art Quarter, the panel explored the role of women in science and research, as well as the impact of EU policies on increasing inclusivity in STEM fields. Alongside David Smith, Director of the Ruđer Bošković Institute, Assoc. Prof. Petrović shared insights on gender equality in innovation and the challenges women face in the scientific community.

The event, organized in collaboration with the European Commission Representation in Croatia, marked the opening day of Women’s Weekend, dedicated to discussing gender equality from a European perspective.

From February 18th to 20th, 2025, the final review and general assembly of the Watchplant project took place in Valencia. The meeting was hosted by the Instituto Tecnológico de la Energía (ITE), the project coordinator.

LARICS members, Prof. Stjepan Bogdan and Marko Križmančić, presented the achievements from FER, highlighting key developments and contributions.

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) in Zagreb hosted a seminar on control theory and robotics on February 18, 2025, as part of the Aerial Robotics and Control series, which connects industry professionals and academics to explore control theory, its applications, and its role in education.

The seminar featured two insightful talks. Prof. Dr. Sc. Matko Orsag presented Classical Control Theory for Non-Classical (Aerial) Manipulation Applications, focusing on control methods for aerial robotic systems. PhD Bruno Marić followed with Bridging Human Expertise and Robotics: The Role of Control in Skill Replication, discussing how control systems can replicate human skills in robotics.

The goal of the Zagreb Control Seminar is to create a platform for experts to share their work, discuss innovations, and collaborate on research projects, fostering meaningful connections between academia and industry.

For more details, visit the official seminar website: Zagreb Control Seminar.

On 7th of February 2025, Lovro Marković, mag. ing., successfully defended his doctoral dissertation and received a PhD degree. His thesis is titled "Multirotor Aerial Vehicle Control Combining Different Actuation Principles." Congratulations, Lovro!

This year, we are going from one to multiple UAVs! Coordination, planning, detection and a couple of Crazyflies await new challengers!

To register for the competition, use the following link:
https://lnkd.in/drBvRVr3

As always, rulebook, code and simulation setup is available on Github:
https://lnkd.in/dZBFGdT6
To contact the competition organizing crew, please use Issues/Discussions on the competition repo.

Important dates (subject to change):
January 25th, 2025: Initial submission - team registration closed
February 20th, 2025:Debug submission
February 28th, 2025:Deadline to upload solutions

Top teams will be invited to further develop and showcase their solution at the Conference!

Congratulations to Prof. Zdenko Kovačić! 🎉

We are proud to share that Prof. Zdenko Kovacic, PhD, has been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2023 National Science Awards. 🏆

Prof. Kovačić received this prestigious recognition for his outstanding scientific, educational, and professional contributions in the field of robotics and intelligent control systems, as well as his lifelong dedication to advancing science and education.

Well-deserved, Professor Kovačić!

A new article titled "Adaptive connectivity control in networked multi-agent systems: A distributed approach" has been published in the journal PLOS ONE by Marko Križmančić and Stjepan Bogdan on December 2, 2024. This study presents a novel distributed method for managing and controlling connectivity in networked multi-agent systems, contributing significantly to the field of robotics and dynamic system design.

The ITE (ITE), leader of the innovative WatchPlant EU Project, invites you to attend an informative webinar:
“WATCHPLANT Final Conference: Biosensor for In Situ Plant Biochemical Analysis – Insights for Environmental Management and Smart Agriculture”
on 16th December 2024 from 10:00 to 11:30 CET.

This webinar will explore the transformative role of biosensors in monitoring environmental quality through plants. As natural indicators of their environment, plants can provide valuable information on their surroundings by using advanced sensor technology. During the event, experts from CSIC-IRNAS and ITE will share insights on utilizing biosensors for environmental management and smart agriculture. Participants will also witness a live demonstration of a novel sap biosensor, capable of in situ biochemical analysis.

Agenda

10:00–10:15 Opening remarks by Laura García Carmona, WATCHPLANT Project Coordinator and Head of Biosensor and Biofuel Cells at ITE

10:15–10:45 Presentation on current strategies and new perspectives for in situ plant monitoring by Virginia Hernandez-Santana, Researcher at Spanish National Research Council (CSIC-IRNAS)

10:45–11:30 Demonstration of advanced solutions for biochemical analysis with the sap biosensor device by Beatriz Lucas Garrote, WATCHPLANT Researcher and Main Researcher at ITE
https://lnkd.in/dPyzfGwP
https://lnkd.in/dsJi8xT4

On November 22, Robert Milijaš delivered two lectures at Prva gimnazija Varaždin. The first was for high school students participating in the Varaždin County Center of Excellence in Informatics, while the second was presented to the County Professional Council for Informatics and Computing Teachers. Both sessions took place on-site and offered an engaging introduction to programming unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The lectures highlighted the work of the Laboratory for Robotics and Intelligent Control Systems (LARICS) and showcased recent projects. Milijaš provided insights into fieldwork with UAVs, exploring their hardware, software platforms, and components. A key focus was on the Robot Operating System (ROS), its architecture, and its critical role in UAV programming.

Attendees also enjoyed a live data demonstration from an operational drone on-site, offering a practical view of UAV capabilities. Milijaš concluded by sharing resources for learning ROS, encouraging further exploration in this cutting-edge field.

Prof. Stjepan Bogdan, has been awarded the IEEE Croatia Section Award for Outstanding Engineering Contribution. The award was presented on November 13, 2024, in recognition of his exceptional work and scientific achievements in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles and aerial robotics.

This award highlights Prof. Bogdan's significant contributions to the advancement of autonomous systems and intelligent robotics, and we at LARICS are thrilled to see his work recognized at this level. Congratulations, Prof. Bogdan!

On Tuesday, November 12, 2024, LARICS hosted students from Gimnazija Josipa Slavenskog Čakovec and their Erasmus+ guests from Greece, Poland, Italy, and Lithuania as part of the STEAM for Sustainability project (Application No. KA220-SCH-6619197E). The visit included 21 international students, 8 foreign teachers, 20 local students, and 4 local teachers.

During their time at LARICS, students were introduced to key elements of soft robotics, such as sensors, compliant robotic arms, and soft grippers. They learned to create a soft robotic gripper using simple materials like balloons, coffee grounds, and a vacuum pump. The students also enjoyed a game of dodgeball with the robotic arm *Franka* and measured the condition of strawberry plants before winter.

The session was led by Milena Jenić, Bruno Marić, Jelena Vuletić, and Matko Orsag, who guided participants through hands-on activities and demonstrations.

On Saturday, November 9, Antonella Barišić Kulaš and Marko Križmančić participated in the Croatian Machine Learning Workshop (CMLW) 2024, an event dedicated to advancing knowledge in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. The workshop featured insightful talks by researchers from Google DeepMind, the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER), University of Zagreb.

The one-day event, held at FER in Zagreb, is part of the Eastern European Machine Learning (EEML) Workshop series. Its goal is to promote key AI topics, including Deep Learning and Reinforcement Learning, among students, researchers, and professionals in the field.

For more details, visit the CMLW website (https://workshops.eeml.eu/).

On November 22, Robert Milijaš will deliver two lectures at Prva Gimnazija Varaždin, first to students interested in the field as part of the Varaždin County Center of Excellence in Informatics for high school students, and then to the County Professional Council for Informatics and Computing Teachers. Both lectures will be held on-site at Prva Gimnazija Varaždin.

The lectures will provide an introduction to programming for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including an overview of the Robot Operating System (ROS) and the hardware and software tools used in the Laboratory for Robotics and Intelligent Control Systems (LARICS). Additionally, Milijaš will showcase some of the equipment utilized in LARICS' projects and educational activities.

Lecture Highlights:
- Brief introduction to LARICS and examples of recent projects
- Fieldwork insights: working with UAVs in real-world settings
- Drone hardware and components
- Software platforms on UAVs
- Introduction to ROS (Robot Operating System) and its role in UAV programming
- Live data demo from an operational drone on-site
- Resources for learning ROS

Stjepan Bogdan, a leading researcher in drone technology, recently participated in the IROS 2024 Workshop held in Abu Dhabi. His presentation, titled *"Autonomous Inspection of Wind-Turbine Blades by UAV"*, highlighted the advancements in using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the autonomous inspection and maintenance of wind turbines. The talk covered cutting-edge innovations in drone autonomy, sensor integration, and real-time data processing, emphasizing the importance of UAVs in improving efficiency and safety in wind-turbine maintenance. This workshop brought together global experts to discuss the future of drone-assisted infrastructure inspection and maintenance.

Students from Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest, participated in the IFROS Drone Days event held from October 8th to 10th, 2024, in Zagreb, Croatia. The event took place at SEECEL, featuring a packed program of drone-related activities, networking opportunities, and workshops.

On October 8th and 9th, students attended sessions on cutting-edge drone technologies and innovations, with highlights including a group photo and the TakeOff party. The event concluded with a city tour of Zagreb.

On October 10th, participants engaged in hands-on workshops on multi-sensor and object tracking systems, followed by UWB training and lab visits at the campus.

Stjepan Bogdan attended the 3rd TEAMING CLUB Conference, which took place from October 9 to 11, 2024, at the BioSense Institute in Novi Sad, Serbia. As part of the team representing FER's future Center of Excellence MARBLE, Bogdan participated in the event aimed at fostering collaborations among research institutions.

The conference's primary objective was to create synergies between Centers of Excellence (CoEs) by showcasing available research infrastructure, including equipment, technologies, and methodologies. This provided participants with the opportunity to learn about each other's scientific efforts and explore possibilities for future collaboration, with the overarching goal of advancing scientific research and innovation across Europe.

Matko Orsag recently participated in the study visit at the Robotics Innovation Center of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz (DFKI)) in Bremen, Germany. The event took place from October 15 to 17, 2024, and was organized by NCP_WIDERA.NET.

The study visit successfully fostered networking and project ideation, encouraging collaborations for joint proposals under Horizon Europe and other related funding schemes. Participants had the opportunity to exchange knowledge and explore potential partnerships for future projects in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence.

Prof. Zdenko Kovačić attended the 6th International Conference on Smart Systems and Technologies (SST 2024), held from October 16 to 18, 2024, in Osijek. During the conference, he presented the paper titled "Constrained Prioritized 3T2R Task Control for Robotic Agricultural Spraying," co-authored by Ivo Vatavuk and Z. Kovačić. This research, part of the HEKTOR project, focuses on the development of advanced robotic systems for precision agriculture.

Matko Orsag will participate in the upcoming study visit at the Robotics Innovation Center of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz (DFKI)) in Bremen, Germany. The event is scheduled to take place from October 15 to 17, 2024.

This study visit, organized by NCP_WIDERA.NET, aims to foster networking and project ideation for joint proposals under Horizon Europe and other funding schemes.

Prof. Zdenko Kovacic will attend the 6th International Conference on Smart Systems and Technologies (SST 2024) from October 16-18, 2024 in Osijek. He will present the paper titled "Constrained Prioritized 3T2R Task Control for Robotic Agricultural Spraying," co-authored by Ivo Vatavuk and Z. Kovačić. This research, part of the HEKTOR project, focuses on the development of advanced robotic systems for precision agriculture.

https://lnkd.in/dpzRGMh

Join us on October 3, 2024, for a tutorial titled "Autonomous Drones in GNSS-Denied Operation for Search and Object Manipulation at Sea" presented by the UNIZG-FER team at the BTS Conference. This session will showcase advanced solutions developed for the MBZIRC 2023 competition, focusing on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and their navigation in GNSS-denied maritime environments. Participants will gain insights into enabling algorithms and have the opportunity for hands-on training, including a live demonstration of UAVs picking up small objects using LIDAR positioning feedback for navigation.

The tutorial will be led by team members Frano Petric, Marko Car, Matko Orsag, Marijana Peti, Robert Milijaš, Jakob Domislovic, Antun Ivanovic, and Barbara Arbanas Ferreira.

https://lnkd.in/eQJz9-bD
https://lnkd.in/eszNCWgw

Join us for the Horizon Europe AeroSTREAM training sessions at the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, Zagreb, on Monday, 7th October and Thursday, 10th October 2024. Participation is free for all interested individuals. These sessions offer a unique opportunity to gain insights from industry experts on innovation, project management, and technologies such as multi-object tracking systems and UWB localization.

Dario Stuhne will attend the 40th IEEE RAS ICRA (ICRA@40), which will be held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, from September 23 to 26, 2024. At this prestigious event, he will present the research paper titled "Extending Dexterity for Agrifood Applications by Reinforcing a Soft Gripper (SofIA)," co-authored with Jelena Vuletic, Dario Stuhne, Marsela Car, and Matko Orsag.

ICRA@40 is one of the most prominent events in the field of robotics and automation, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year (https://icra40.ieee.org/).

Jakob Domislovic will present the paper titled "Marsupial Multirobot System for Maritime Intervention" at the 40th IEEE RAS ICRA (ICRA@40), which will be held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, from September 23 to 26, 2024.

This work is co-authored by Jakob Domislović, Robert Milijaš, Dario Stuhne, Antonella Barišić Kulaš, Marko Car, Antun Ivanovic, Barbara Arbanas Ferreira, Goran Vasiljevic, Matko Orsag, and Stjepan Bogdan. The research explores the development and implementation of a multirobot system designed for maritime interventions.
https://icra40.ieee.org/

Our new member, Marko Kozlik, participated in the NOVsky Festival on the 13th of September, where the Laboratory for Robotics and Intelligent Control Systems (LARICS) presented unmanned aerial vehicles called "Crazyflie." These small research drones are used for testing algorithms in multi-robot systems due to their simple programmability and light weight. They have also been used in certain courses as part of the curriculum.

The festival attracted a large audience of primary school children, who were excited to try flying the drones. However, the drones also captured the interest of adults, who were more focused on learning about their technical applications and operation. This event provided a great opportunity to spark curiosity about robotics and technology among both young and older visitors.

Filip Zoric has recently completed his exchange at the Robotics and Mechatronics Group at the University of Twente. During his visit, Filip focused on testing the ability of the control structure to track reference trajectories with an aerial vehicle, a critical component for enabling effective physical aerial interaction. Throughout his visit, he conducted numerous experiments, refining the control algorithms and evaluating their performance in real-world scenarios. His work represents a significant step forward in the development of advanced aerial manipulation systems. This research is integral to his ongoing efforts to develop an AI-enhanced Human Aerial Manipulator Interface for service and maintenance tasks.

This exchange was supported in part by the Croatian Science Foundation through the Outbound Mobility of Research Assistants (MOBDOK-2023) program. We extend our congratulations to Filip for his valuable contributions and successful completion of this research phase.

Jakob Domislovic and Robert Milijaš have successfully participated in the Summer School on Multi-Robot Systems, hosted by Czech Technical University in Prague from July 29th to August 2nd, 2024. This program provided a unique opportunity for both to explore advanced topics in robotics and select two key areas of focus closely aligned with their research interests.

During the event, Jakob and Robert engaged with leading experts and practitioners in the field, deepening their knowledge and expertise. They also connected with partners from the hashtag
hashtag#AeroSTREAM project and networked with other robotics enthusiasts from across the EU and beyond. Their participation underscores their commitment to advancing multi-robot systems and fostering valuable collaborations in the robotics community.

We extend our gratitude to the organizers of the Summer School for this enriching opportunity.

Filip Zoric is at Robotics and Mechatronics Group, University of Twente, working on developing AI enhanced Human Aerial Manipulator Interface for service and maintenance tasks as part of his PhD. These photos show Filip, doing experiments to test ability of the control structure to track a reference trajectory with aerial vehicle, as a prerequisite for any kind of physical aerial interaction. Visit is in part supported by Croatian Science Foundation as part of the Outbound Mobility of Research Assistants (MOBDOK-2023).

Marko Križmančić has been actively participating in DeepLearn 2024, which took place from July 15-19 in Porto. This event, officially titled "DeepLearn 2024 – 11th INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL ON DEEP LEARNING (and the Future of Artificial Intelligence)," provided global research training on the latest advancements in deep learning.

The summer school featured a series of engaging lectures and discussions. Last week, an Open Session allowed participants to present their work-in-progress research. Marko Križmančić took this opportunity to showcase his doctoral research on the WatchPlant EU Project project. Special thanks to the #AeroSTREAM project for supporting his participation in this valuable event.

Marko Križmančić is attending the DeepLearn 2024 summer school, held from July 15-19 in Porto. This event, officially titled "DeepLearn 2024 – 11th INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL ON DEEP LEARNING (and the Future of Artificial Intelligence)," offers global research training, focusing on the latest advancements in deep learning. Graduate students, postgraduate students, and industry practitioners are the typical participants, though all career stages are welcome. Special thanks to the AeroSTREAM project for facilitating this opportunity.

On 18th of July 2024, Bruno Marić, mag. ing., successfully defended his doctoral dissertation and received a PhD degree. Bruno’s thesis is entitled "Safe collaborative framework for compliant industrial manipulators" (Sigurno kolaborativno okruženje za podatne industrijske manipulatore). Congratulations Bruno!

LARICS members Bruno Marić and Matko Orsag participated in the Robotics: Science and Systems RSS Conference, held from July 15-19, 2024, at Delft University of Technology in Delft, Netherlands. Bruno Marić presented the article titled "Kinesthetic vs Imitation: Analysis of Usability and Workload of Programming by Demonstration Methods" during the workshop "Mechanisms for Mapping Human Input to Robots: From Robot Learning to Shared Control/Autonomy" on July 15, 2024.

Additionally, on July 17, 2024, Associate Professor Dr. sc. Matko Orsag delivered a lecture titled "From Aerial Robotics and Industrial Automation to Truly Dexterous Manipulation" at the University of Twente's Robotics and Mechatronics (RaM) lab as part of the hashtag#AeroSTREAM project.

Professor Stjepan Bogdan and Marko Križmančić attended the WatchPlant EU Project project meeting in Opatija, organized by FER, on July 2nd and 3rd. This crucial gathering aimed to finalize plans for the project's remaining experiments.

During the meeting, it was discussed the project's status, individual contributions were reviewed, and plans for the next steps were made. This was the penultimate meeting, and the final phase before the concluding review meeting in Valencia is now underway. Stay tuned for updates on progress and developments.

On 11th of July 2024, Jurica Goričanec, mag. ing., successfully defended his doctoral dissertation and received a PhD degree. Jurica’s thesis is entitled "Flight path planning for infrastructure inspection based on artificial potential fields." Congratulations Jurica!

LARICS members Bruno Marić and Matko Orsag will be participating in the Robotics: Science and Systems (RSS) 2024 conference, held from July 15-19, 2024, at Delft University of Technology in Delft, Netherlands. They will be presenting their article titled "Kinesthetic vs Imitation: Analysis of Usability and Workload of Programming by Demonstration Methods" during the workshop "Mechanisms for Mapping Human Input to Robots: From Robot Learning to Shared Control/Autonomy" on July 15, 2024.

For more information, visit the RSS Conference website https://lnkd.in/gszc7Hy.

B. Maric, F. Zoric, F. Petric, and M. Orsag, "Kinesthetic vs Imitation: Analysis of Usability and Workload of Programming by Demonstration Methods" in Proceedings of the Robotics: Science and Systems Conference, July 2024. [Online]. Available: https://lnkd.in/dVFYgbV2

Last week Robert Milijaš delivered a presentation titled "How UAVs Work" ("Kiel funkcias senpilotaj aviadiloj") at the 12th Congress of Croatian Esperantists, held from June 21st to 28th. As part of the #Aerostream project, Milijaš explained the operational mechanisms, control systems, and practical applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (#UAVs).

Professor Stjepan Bogdan and Marko Križmančić will be attending the upcoming Watchplant project meeting in Opatija, organized by FER. Scheduled for July 2nd and 3rd, this crucial gathering aims to finalize plans for the project's remaining experiments. Stay tuned for updates on our progress and developments.

Filip Zoric doctoral candidate at LARICS, will soon be heading off on a research trip to Enschede, Netherlands. He will depart at 26th of June, and return at the 2nd of August.
Filip's trip is in collaboration with the Robotics and Mechatronics Group from University of Twente (UT).

During his time in Enschede, Filip will conduct research on visual based teleoperation and inspection with aerial manipulators. His research visit is supported by Croatian Science Foundation project Outbound Mobility for Research Assistants.

We are proud that our Marko Krizmancic has been selected as a finalist for the best PhD poster at FER's #PhDday.

The Bounding Box Conference, supported by the AeroSTREAM project, offered a day filled with networking opportunities, informative lectures, and engaging panel discussions. Attendees actively participated in exploring cutting-edge innovations and connecting with industry experts. A standout event was the panel discussion “Deep Tech in Agriculture: Are we ready for disruption?” featuring esteemed speakers like Zdenko Kovacic, Ivan Plaščak, Ivan Lauc, and Mario Samardzic. The discussions centered on the transformative impact of drones and advanced technologies in agriculture. Stay tuned for more updates!

Bruno Marić attended the 32nd Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation (MED 2024), held from June 11-14, 2024, at the KAM Center of Mediterranean Architecture in Chania, Crete, Greece. At the conference, he presented the paper "Control Aspects in Programming by Demonstration for Robotic Deep-Micro-Hole Drilling," co-authored with Frano Petric and Matko Orsag.

The conference was organized by the Mediterranean Control Association.

We look forward to further advancements in this field.

🎉 Exciting news from the Bounding Box Conference! The panel "Deep Tech in Agriculture: Are we ready for disruption?" explored how innovative technologies like drones are set to revolutionize the agricultural industry. 

The event highlighted the sector's reliance on energy-intensive practices and the potential for technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, and unmanned aerial vehicles to enhance efficiency. 

Moderated by Vlatko Galić, the panel featured insights from Zdenko Kovacic (Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb), Ivan Plaščak (Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Sciences, University of Osijek), Ivan Lauc (Plodovi.hr), and Mario Samardzic (DRONTIM).

Bounding Box Conference in Osijek!

As part of the Bounding Box Conference, the AeroSTREAM end-user workshop will be held, featuring a stand, several presentations, and panel discussions.

Join us to explore innovations and connect with industry experts.

Recently, our team member Filip Zorić presented two articles at the ICUAS Conference in Chania, Crete, Greece from June 4-7. His contributions enriched discussions on unmanned aircraft systems, reflecting the latest advancements in the field. Looking forward to the continued evolution of aerial robotics! #ICUAS2024 #AerialRobotics

LARICS Laboratory participated in the 2nd Robotics and Automation Fair, held on June 7, 2024, at the Technical School Sisak!

Zdenko Kovacic and Dario Stuhne led an engaging hands-on workshop on aerial robotics, allowing attendees to pilot a small drone. Starting at 10 AM, the fair was a full day of innovation and technology, featuring contributions from leading universities and industry partners across Croatia.

Supported by Sisak-Moslavina County, this event was part of the Regional Competence Center's initiatives at the Technical School Sisak. It showcased the latest advancements in industrial automation and robotics, along with the school's cutting-edge programs and equipment.

With 22 exhibitors, including top companies and educational institutions, the fair provided an in-depth look at the forefront of robotics and automation technologies.

We were thrilled by the enthusiastic turnout and thank everyone who participated! For more information, visit: https://lnkd.in/dj48PV2i.

On June 9, 2024, we had the pleasure of joining the HUBS DRON PIKNIK 2024 at Znanstveno-učilišni kampus Borongaj in Zagreb. LARICS was proud to sponsor this event, which ran from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Attendees had the opportunity to visit our stand and explore the latest advancements in unmanned technology, including our DroneDays event and the Aerostream project. Thank you to everyone who joined us! 🌟🛸

Two scientific papers co-authored by members of LARICS have been accepted for publication at ICUAS'24 by ICUAS Association, Inc. in Chania, Crete!

Accepted Articles:

1. Towards Instance Segmentation Based Litter Collection with Multi-Rotor Aerial Vehicle, co-authored with Filip Zoric, Antonio Franchi, Matko Orsag, Zdenko Kovacic, and Chiara Gabellieri. This work introduces autonomous floating litter collection with a multi-rotor vehicle in a laboratory environment. https://lnkd.in/dKKYFPTA

2. AI Enhanced Structure Health Monitoring (SHM) with Multi-Rotor Aerial Vehicle, co-authored with Filip Zorić, Ana Milas, Tamara Petrović, Zdenko Kovacic, and Matko Orsag. The paper showcases the utilization of instance segmentation to detect concrete cracks and localize them on a global map, further underscoring the potential of MRAVs for autonomous structural health monitoring.

#ICUAS24 #SciencePublication #AutonomousTechnology

Bruno Marić's article "Control Aspects in Programming by Demonstration for Robotic Deep-Micro-Hole Drilling," co-authored with Frano Petric and Matko Orsag, has been accepted for the 32nd Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation (MED 2024)!

The conference, organized by the Mediterranean Control Association, will be held from June 11-14, 2024, at the KAM Center of Mediterranean Architecture in Chania, Crete, Greece.

Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dVRKidb3

🚁 Calling out all #drone enthusiasts! 🌞 Looking for a way to spend this sunny Sunday? Join us at the HUBS DRON PIKNIK 2024. LARICS is proud to be a sponsor of this event, happening at Znanstveno-učilišni kampus Borongaj in Zagreb on June 9, 2024, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Swing by our stand to explore the latest in unmanned technology, including our #DroneDays event and the #Aerostream project. See you there! 🌟🛸

LARICS Laboratory is excited to announce participation in the 2nd Robotics and Automation Fair on June 7, 2024, at the Technical School Sisak!

Zdenko Kovačić and Dario Sutuhne will host a hands-on workshop on aerial robotics, where attendees can pilot a small drone. Join us from 10 AM for a day filled with innovation and technology, featuring leading universities and industry partners from across Croatia.

Supported by Sisak-Moslavina County, the fair is part of the Regional Competence Center's initiatives at the Technical School Sisak. It aims to showcase the latest advancements in industrial automation and robotics, alongside the school's state-of-the-art programs and equipment.

With 22 exhibitors, including top companies and educational institutions, the event promises a deep dive into cutting-edge technologies in robotics and automation.

Don’t miss out! For more information, visit: https://www.smz.hr/aktualno/10791-najavljen-2-sajam-robotike-i-automatizacije.

See you there!

LARICS members Antun Ivanovic and Goran Vaslijević recently conducted a workshop titled “Heterogeneous Robotic System for Inspection and Intervention in GNSS-Denied Environments: Experience from MBZIRC 2024 Competition” at the ICUAS Association, Inc 2024 conference in Crete on June 4th, 2024.

The workshop explored practical applications of heterogeneous robotic systems, integrating Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs). Attendees gained insights and solutions developed specifically for the MBZIRC competition.

Organizers included Prof. Tamara Petrović, Barbara Arbanas Ferreira Pascoal Ferreira, PhD, and Prof. Stjepan Bogdan.

Stay tuned for more!

Our LARICS members Antun Ivanovic and Goran Vaslijević will be holding a workshop Heterogeneous robotic system for inspection and intervention in GNSS-denied environments – experience from MBZIRC 2024 competition
supported by the HorizonEU project AeroSTREAM at the ICUAS Association, Inc 2024 conference on June 4th, 2024, in Crete!
We invite you to attend their lecture on the real-world application of heterogeneous robotic systems, featuring Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs). The workshop includes highlights such as solutions developed for the MBZIRC competition.
The workshop is organized by Prof. Tamara Petrović, Barbara Arbanas Ferreira Pascoal Ferreira, PhD, and Prof. Stjepan Bogdan.

📅 Date: June 4th, 2024
📍 Location: Crete, ICUAS 2024 Conference
🔗 More Info: https://lnkd.in/dyRK76yW

Join us to learn and network with experts in the field!

Robert Milijaš, a doctoral candidate at LARICS, recently completed a productive research trip to Seville, Spain. From April to May, 2024, Robert collaborated with the Universidad de Sevilla, specifically the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Industrial (School of Engineering), and the Robotics, Computer Vision, and Control Laboratory (GRVC). During his time in Seville, Robert focused on conducting experiments vital to his doctoral research as part of the AeroSTREAM project.

On Tuesday, May 28th, from 12 to 3 PM, professors, assistants, students, and FER alumni gathered at info booths on the ground floor of the Faculty to present the various master's study profiles. LARICS was among the contributors, presenting the Automation and Robotics master's program in the main hall.

The fourth edition of DroneDays will be held from October 8th to 9th, 2024, at SEECEL in Zagreb, Croatia. The registration package includes accreditation with access to all events, such as lectures, demonstrations in the flying zone, exhibition, coffee breaks, and the snack zone, along with workshop materials.

For more information about the fourth edition of DroneDays, visit our website: https://lnkd.in/dJYCQrU8.

Secure your spot at this year's DroneDays! Buy your ticket here: https://lnkd.in/d75_ik2j!

A new article, "Distributed Allocation and Scheduling of Tasks with Cross-Schedule Dependencies for Heterogeneous Multi-Robot Teams" by Barbara Arbanas Ferreira, Tamara Petrović, Matko Orsag, J. Ramiro Martinez de Dios, and Stjepan Bogdan, was published in IEEE Access on May 23rd.

This paper introduces a distributed task allocation and scheduling algorithm tailored for multi-robot systems, specifically addressing missions with closely linked temporal and precedence constraints. Leveraging a variant of the vehicle routing problem and employing a distributed metaheuristic algorithm (CBM-pop), the approach showcases enhanced computational speed and scalability while maintaining optimality. Its efficacy is demonstrated through a practical scenario of greenhouse maintenance.
Additionally, it is noted that this work is connected with the Aerostream and Specularia projects.

The article is available under the "Early Access" section on IEEE Xplore, and can be cited using its DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3404823.
https://lnkd.in/dXkatpuj

On May 22nd at 18:00, FER hosted a successful lecture by Dario Stuhne as part of the 3D printing workshop organized by the student association EESTEC LC Zagreb. Dario delivered an engaging introductory lecture on 3D printing, followed by an informative session on 3D modeling.
The workshop was fully booked, and attendees left highly satisfied with the insights and knowledge they gained about the latest advancements in 3D printing technology.

Robert Milijaš, a doctoral candidate at LARICS, is currently immersed in his research trip to Seville, Spain. Collaborating closely with the Universidad de Sevilla, specifically the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Industrial (School of Engineering), and the Robotics, Computer Vision, and Control Laboratory (GRVC).

During his stay in Seville, Robert is diligently conducting experiments essential to his doctoral research. Additionally, he recently attended aerospace and defense meetings, such as the conference hosted by BCIAerospace (https://lnkd.in/eMU2Q-F), further enriching his understanding and involvement in his field of study.

Dario Stuhne attended STEM Games, the largest international STEM student competition in the region, which took place from May 12th to 17th in Umag. Industrial mentors included Festo and AVL, while university mentors came from Istarsko Veleučilište - Università Istriana di scienze applicate (IV), Faculty of Engineering at the University of Rijeka (RiTeh), and Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER). Dario served as a mentor in the engineering arena, contributing to crafting the project tasks and providing guidance to students, evaluating their work, and offering support. Participants showcased their skills in problem-solving, sports, and esports. In total, there were 15 teams competing and over 60 students demonstrating remarkable skills and innovation.

From left to right - top row: Ognjen Čučković (FESTO), Matko Glučina (IV), Filip Božić (AVL), Mirta Čolić (FER - E arena coordinator), Sandi Baressi Šegota (RiTeh), Luka Vučetić (FESTO),

From left to right - bottom row: Filip Sertić (FESTO), Mihael Jakšić (FER), Dario Stuhne (FER).

A heartfelt thank you to all for their invaluable support and guidance.

The IEEE RAS ICRA 2024, held from May 13-17 in Yokohama, Japan, has once again established itself as one of the premier events in the field of robotics. Over 6000 scientists and experts from around the world gathered to share their latest research and advancements. Among the notable contributions were three articles coauthored by members of the Laboratory for Robotics and Intelligent Control Systems (LARICS).

Our Prof. Dr. Sc. Stjepan Bogdan will be participating in the workshop "Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Values" on May 22nd at the Institute of Philosophy. He will be presenting a lecture, contributing to the ongoing dialogue about the ethical implications of emerging technologies.

This event marks the continuation of collaboration with Dr. sc. Tomislav Bracanovic and Dr. sc. Viktor Ivanković from the Institute of Philosophy, who also contribute to the course "Ethics and New Technologies" at FER.

Stay tuned for more updates! 🚀✨

Excited to share that on May 4th, the Proljetni BIND event took place at FER, organized by Udruga STEMALICA. Our LARICS members Marijana Peti and Milena Jenić, who are also active members of Udruga STEMalica, along with Juraj Oršulić and Bruno Marić volunteered at the event.
#STEM #Education #Volunteering #LARICS #STEMalica

On May 22nd at 18:00 at FER, Dario Stuhne will be giving a lecture as part of the 3D printing workshop organized by the student association EESTEC LC Zagreb. Dario will deliver an introductory lecture on 3D printing, followed by a session on 3D modeling. Join us to explore the latest advancements in 3D printing technology and engage in insightful discussions.
https://lnkd.in/ddjWiur5

On May 16, 2024, the "Technology Readiness Levels" workshop was held in the Gray Hall at FER, organized by ICENT for HAMAG-BICRO - Croatian agency for SMEs, Innovations and Investments. As part of this workshop, prof. dr. sc. Stjepan Bogdan delivered a lecture on the application of Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) in the context of drone-based inspection systems.

IEEE RAS ICRA 2024, taking place from May 13-17 in Yokohama, Japan. ICRA stands as one of the largest events in the robotics field, gathering over 6000 scientists and experts from around the globe.

Three articles, coauthored by members of LARICS, will be presented.

The fourth edition of the international conference on drones, DroneDays 2024, is drawing near! This year brings another thrilling journey into the world of unmanned aerial vehicles, taking place on October 8th and 9th, 2024, in the beautiful city of Zagreb! DroneDays 2024 presents a unique opportunity for all experts, researchers, engineers, and enthusiasts to come together and explore the latest innovations, insights, and practices in the field of drones. Expect inspiring presentations, interactive workshops, and dynamic discussions that will guide you through the future of aerial technology. Stay tuned for more details. See you at DroneDays 2024!
Stay tuned for updates! For more information, visit https://lnkd.in/dJYCQrU8.

Dario Stuhne will be attending STEM Games, the largest international STEM student competition in the region, set to take place from May 12th to 17th in Umag. Participants will converge to showcase their skills in problem-solving, sports, and esports.

STEM Games is divided into three distinct categories: problem-solving exercises, sports, and esports. Within the problem-solving exercises category, participants will engage in challenges across four arenas: science (S), technology (T), engineering (E), and mathematics (M).

Dario Stuhne will serve as a mentor in the engineering arena (E). Having contributed to crafting the project tasks, Dario will provide guidance to students throughout the competition, evaluating their work and offering support. Learn more about Dario's role and the engineering arena here: https://lnkd.in/dwrUNdur.
Visit stemgames.hr for more information. #STEMGames #STEMCompetition 🏆🔬

🌿 Join us for the second edition of the Environmental Intelligence Summer School, happening from June 19-21, 2024, at Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Edificio E (escuela técnica superior informática).

In collaboration with the WATCHPLANT and SMARTLAGOON projects, this event focuses on the digitization of natural environments and the utilization of advanced tools for accessing vital information.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to expand your knowledge in environmental intelligence! Register today: https://lnkd.in/d44qehSv. #EnvironmentalIntelligence #AmbientIntelligence #Digitization #UPV #SummerSchool
Prof. dr. sc. Stjepan Bogdan, Marko Križmančić

We had the pleasure of hosting a workshop on aerial robotics at the Science Festival in the Technical Museum. Held on Friday, April 26th, from 10:00 to 12:00, attendees had the opportunity to gain firsthand insights from Larics members Dario Stuhne, Marijana Peti, Juraj Oršulić, Doc. dr. sc. Goran Vasiljevic, and Izv. prof. dr. sc. Tamara Petrović. Stay tuned for updates on future events! For more information, visit the LARICS and AeroSTREAM websites.

Robert Milijaš, a doctoral candidate at LARICS, will soon be heading off on a research trip to Seville, Spain. Departing on April 27, 2024, and returning on May 25, 2024, Robert's trip is in collaboration with the Universidad de Sevilla of Seville, particularly the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Industrial Superior de Ingeniería (School of Engineering), and the Robotics, Computer Vision, and Control Laboratory (GRVC).

During his time in Seville, Robert will focus on conducting experiments crucial to his doctoral research as part of the AeroSTREAM project.

Join us at the Science Festival in the Technical Museum for a workshop on aerial robotics. The event will take place on Friday, April 26th, from 10:00 to 12:00. The workshop will be held by Larics members: Dario Stuhne, Marijana Peti, Doc. dr. sc. Goran Vasiljevicć, and Izv. prof. dr. sc. Tamara Petrović. Don't forget to visit Larics website and AeroSTREAM website for more information.

Last Thursday, April 18, 2024, the University of Rijeka hosted a roundtable discussion on "Strengthening Scientific Excellence" alongside an ERC Advanced Grant Information Day.

During the session, Professor Stjepan Bogdan shared insights from project applications at FER (Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing), discussing the influence of mentors, institutions, and the Ministry of Education, Science, and Sport (MZO) on young researchers' project submissions.

LARICS members participated in MUZZA Science Week from April 12th to 14th! Attendees delved into captivating subjects like plant health measurement with electronic circuits, gaining insights into the technological advancements reshaping agriculture and environmental monitoring. They also enjoyed hands-on experiences with Aerial Robotics, witnessing drone demonstrations and piloting small Crazyflie drones, even assembling and flying their own. LARICS showcased their projects, ICSE Factory, WatchPlant and Aerostream.

Marko Križmančić, prof. dr. sc. Stjepan Bogdan, and Marijana Peti recently concluded their visit to the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) from April 10th to April 12th as part of the Aerostream project. During their visit, they had fruitful discussions with Martin Saska and Kristian Hengster-Movric-Movrić, focusing on idea exchange and exploring opportunities for future collaboration.

Join us at MUZZA Science Week from April 12th to 14th! Here's what's in store:

🌿 Dive into project WatchPlant and the world of plant health measurement with simple electronic circuits. Learn how technology is transforming agriculture and environmental monitoring.

🚁 Embark on an adventure with Aerial Robotics! Witness big drones in action and get hands-on experience by piloting small Crazyflie drones during breaks. You can even try assembling and piloting your own drone!

Join us at MUZZA Science Week with LARICS and ICSE Factory!

🌿Learn how to measure plant health with simple electronic circuits.

🚁 Dive into Aerial Robotics and discover aircraft operations and sensors with large aircraft featuring LiDAR and cameras. Don't miss the coordinated flights of small Crazyflie aircraft – you can even try piloting them during breaks!

See you there! #MUZZAScienceWeek #LARICS #ICSEFactory

Our colleague, Ana Milas, MSc, has successfully defended her doctoral dissertation titled "Information gain-based autonomous exploration of 3D environments using an unmanned aerial vehicle" on April 3, 2024. Congratulations to Ana on this significant accomplishment, and best wishes for her future endeavors.

Marko Križmančić, Stjepan Bogdan, and Marijana Peti are planning to visit the Czech Technical University in Prague Technical University (CTU) in Prague from April 10th to April 12th as part of the Aerostream project. They will meet with Martin Saska and Kristian Hengster-Movric-Movrić for idea exchange and future collaboration discussions.

Stay tuned for updates!

The article titled "Structured Ecological Cultivation With Autonomous Robots in Agriculture: Toward a Fully Autonomous Robotic Indoor Farming System" authored by LARICS alumni dr. sc. Marsela Car, along with co-authors Barbara Arbanas Ferreira, Jelena Vuletić, and Matko Orsag, has been accepted for presentation at IEEE RAS ICRA 2024. The article was originally published in the scientific journal IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine on October 16, 2023, and is available via DOI: 10.1109/MRA.2023.3315934.

M. Car, B. A. Ferreira, J. Vuletic and M. Orsag, “Structured Ecological Cultivation With Autonomous Robots in Agriculture: Toward a Fully Autonomous Robotic Indoor Farming System,” in IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, doi: 10.1109/MRA.2023.3315934.

As part of the ICSE Factory project, elementary schools are implementing an innovative approach that integrates technology with botanical studies. Students in grades 5 to 8 at Vladimir Deščak Elementary School and Ksaver Šandor Gjalski Elementary School, under the guidance of Professor Dr. Matko Orsag, Milena Jenić mag.ing.agr., and master's student Viktor Horvat, are currently participating in workshops focused on plant cultivation and environmental monitoring.

Professors Stjepan Bogdan and Zdenko Kovačić were featured presenters at the ERF conference held in Rimini, Italy, from March 13th to 15th. Stjepan Bogdan's presentation, titled "Information Gain-Based Autonomous Exploration Using UAVs," demonstrated his expertise in drone technology.

Additionally, Stjepan actively participated as a panelist during a workshop, offering valuable insights.

Professors Zdenko Kovacic and Stjepan Bogdan are currently at the European Robotics Forum (ERF) 2024 in Rimini, Italy, representing the AeroStream project from March 13th to 15th.

Furthermore, Stjepan Bogdan will be delivering a presentation on navigating drones in challenging environments, leveraging his expertise in drone technology. As a panelist during the workshop, Stjepan will offer valuable insights.

We're thrilled to announce that Professors Zdenko Kovacic and Stjepan Bogdan will be attending the esteemed European Robotics Forum (ERF) 2024 in Rimini, Italy, from March 13th to 15th as part of the AeroStream project.

Professor Stjepan Bogdan and Marko Križmančić participated in the review meeting for the Watchplant project, convened at the University of Konstanz from February 26th to 28th, 2024. Partners presented their progress over the preceding six months, with reviewers from the European Commission expressing satisfaction and offering minor feedback. The Project Officer, Darina Botsova, oversaw the proceedings alongside three to four expert reviewers. The team remains committed to advancing their work until year-end, with the subsequent meeting slated for Zagreb. Stay tuned for updates on outcomes and developments.

Prof. Stjepan Bogdan and Marko Križmančić are actively engaged in the review meeting for the WatchPlant project at the University of Konstanz, running from February 26th to 28th, 2024. This project is reshaping plant monitoring and research.

Dario Stuhne and Dean Martinović, LARICS members, participated in the immersive Learning Expedition from February 22nd to 23rd, 2024. Hosted by the AEROSTREAM and IN-TRANSIT projects, this expedition welcomed European SMEs from textile, construction, and advanced manufacturing sectors to explore the dynamic Andalusian Aerospace Sector. With AEROSTREAM's collaboration, the event fostered invaluable partnerships and opened doors to potential collaborations for European SMEs. Our team also had the privilege of visiting Fundación Andaluza para el Desarrollo Aeroespacial CATEC, a leading aerospace technology center in Europe, and delving into insights from various companies within the Andalucía Aerospace Cluster.

Petar Slaviček, dr.sc. Ivan Hrabar, and prof. Zdenko Kovačić have authored a paper in the "Robotics" journal. Titled "Generating a Dataset for Semantic Segmentation of Vine Trunks in Vineyards Using Semi-Supervised Learning and Object Detection," their research presents novel methods for crafting datasets specifically aimed at the semantic segmentation of vine trunks within vineyards. For further information, access the full article.

Prof. Stjepan Bogdan and Marko Križmaničić are slated to participate in a review meeting for the Watchplant project at the University of Konstanz from February 26th to 28th, 2024. This initiative aims to innovate plant monitoring and research. Stay tuned for updates on the meeting's outcomes.

Today marks Day 1 of the Learning Expedition in Seville! The agenda includes an insightful Andalusia Aerospace Cluster presentation at CTA facilities, followed by visits to Industry Puerto de Santa María and TITANIA at Tecnobahia, El Puerto de Santa María.
We're thrilled to have our adventurers, Dario Stuhne and Dean Martinović, on the ground to provide us with firsthand impressions from the expedition.

Renowned keynote speaker Martin Saska was featured at the 2nd International Conference on Unmanned Vehicle Systems (UVS-Oman 2024), organized by the College of Engineering at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU). He delivered a lecture titled "Towards Agile Swarms of UAVs in the Wild" and conducted a workshop on Tightly Cooperating Aerial Vehiclesin Real-world Environment. Throughout both engagements, Martin actively promoted Open Lab initiative. The conference took place from February 12th to 14th.

We are delighted to announce that Antonella Barišić Kulaš will be presenting the paper titled "Bio-inspired Visual Relative Localization for Large Swarms of UAVs" at the 2024 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA). The conference is scheduled to take place from May 13-17, 2024, in Yokohama, Japan. 

This paper, authored by Martin Krížek, Matouš Vrba, Antonella Barišić Kulaš, Stjepan Bogdan, and Martin Saska, introduces a pioneering approach to visual perception for relative localization within extensive UAV swarms. The research draws inspiration from the perceptual strategies utilized by schools of sardines, swarms of bees, and other large decentralized groups of animals.

This work represents a collaborative effort with the Czech Technical University in Prague, showcasing innovative strides in UAV swarm technology and bio-inspired robotics.

Dario Stuhne and Dr.-Ing. Dean Martinović, members of LARICS, will attend the Learning Expedition in Seville from February 22nd to 23rd, 2024. This expedition invites European SMEs from textile, construction, and advanced manufacturing sectors to explore the Andalusian Aerospace Sector through the AEROSTREAM and IN-TRANSIT projects. AEROSTREAM's co-organization of the event aims to strengthen cooperation with partners and improve European SMEs' access to potential collaborations. Additionally, AEROSTREAM partners will visit Fundación Andaluza para el Desarrollo Aeroespacial CATEC, one of Europe's premier aerospace technology centers, and learn about various companies and the Andalucía Aerospace Cluster.

LARICS members prof. Zdenko Kovačić and Antonella Barišić Kulaš visited the IFAM Fair 2024 in Slovenia, the premier B2B Trade Fair for automation and mechatronics in the CEE region. The fair, focusing on key technologies like sensor and measurement technologies, aims to meet the needs of professional visitors.

We are thrilled to announce that Ana Milas will be presenting the paper titled "Autonomous Exploration of Unknown 3D Environments Using a Frontier-Based Collector Strategy" at the 2024 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA). The conference is scheduled to take place from May 13-17, 2024, in Yokohama, Japan. This paper represents a collaboration between members of the Fundación Andaluza para el Desarrollo Aeroespacial and the Laboratory for Robotics and Intelligent Control Systems (LARICS), including Ivan David Changoluisa Caiza, Marco Montes Grova, Francisco Javier Pérez Grau, and Tamara Petrović.

UNIZG-FER team, composed of LARICS and LABUST laboratories, clinches the top spot at the prestigious MBZIRC competition, securing a grand prize of 2 million dollars. This monumental triumph reflects their unwavering dedication to excellence and innovation. The competition spanned two years and unfolded across various phases. In the end, only 5 finalists remained, spending a month preparing to showcase their accomplishments in Abu Dhabi. Heartiest congratulations to the team on this monumental triumph!

The IEEE Croatia Section and the IFRoS project hosted lectures on:

"Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF): basics, variations, applications" which was presented by Nelli Nyisztor, a Ph.D student and "Transferability in Robotics: transfer, curriculum, and reinforcement learning" which were presented by Dániel Horváth, a Ph.D student on Thursday, January 18.

On Tuesday, January 16, 2024, the first review meeting for the AeroSTREAM project took place, marking a significant milestone in the project's progress. The project is funded under the Horizon Europe sub-programme 'Widening participation and spreading excellence' - European Excellence Initiative. During the session, the consortium presented an overview of all activities conducted within the project to the project officer, Agne Dobranskyte-Niskota, and to the external monitor.

The meeting was successful, and the consortium received valuable feedback from both the project officer and the monitor. It was a pleasure to host everyone in Zagreb and to lay the groundwork for successful future project activities and collaborations.

Robert Milijaš and Goran Vasiljević, representing FER LARICS, showcased their research at the International Conference on Electrical, Control, and Computer Engineering (ICECCE) on December 30-31, 2023. Vasiljević presented two articles: "Control System for an Automated Electric Street Sweeper Cleaning System" and "Hardware-in-the-Loop System of the Autonomous Municipal Cleaning Vehicle". Meanwhile, Milijaš focused on "Towards an Environmentally-friendly Street Sweeping Vehicle with Reduced Water Consumption".

More details about the articles are available here.

On 21st of December LARICS researcher Ivo Vatavuk successfully defended his doctoral dissertation and received a PhD degree in Electrical Engineering. Ivo’s thesis is entitled "Optimal control of a mobile manipulator for spraying and suckering tasks in viticulture". Congratunations Ivo!

On 12^th of December LARICS researcher Ivan Hrabar successfully defended his doctoral dissertation and received a PhD degree in Electrical Engineering. ivan’s thesis is entitled "Navigation of an autonomous all-terrain mobile manipulator in semi-structured vineyard environment". Congratunations Ivan!

The Interest Group of Young Professionals and the Laboratory for Robotics and Intelligent Control Systems (LARICS, Aerostream project) hosted a lecture titled "Artificial Intelligence in Aerial Manipulation" by Filip Zorić, MSc.Eng. from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb. The event took place on Monday, December 11, 2023, at 11:00 AM at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Rijeka.

The lecture, conducted in the Croatian language, had a duration of 90 minutes. It was open to all interested parties, with a special invitation extended to undergraduate and graduate students. Additional information about the lecture and the lecturer can be found in the detailed content of the announcement.

Between November 26th and December 3rd, 2023, Marko Križmaničić actively participated in advancing the WatchPlant project during his visit to the University of Konstanz in Germany. Engaging in an intensive workshop, the focus was on pushing the boundaries of hardware and software for hybrid wireless sensor networks, incorporating technologies like Bluetooth, Zigbee, LoRa, SMS, and WiFi. This workshop represents a significant leap forward in the WatchPlant project, underscoring the commitment to international collaboration and driving innovation in the realm of wireless sensor networks.

On November 29, 2023, Antonella Barisic Kulas, researcher and PhD student of Laboratory for Robotics and Intelligent Control Systems (LARICS), delivered an insightful lecture at RIT Croatia. This event was a part of the AeroSTREAM initiative, which aims to foster connections among students and researchers while promoting knowledge sharing and future collaborative opportunities.

FER, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, hosted an engaging Open Day on Saturday, November 25, 2023, from 10 am to 4 pm, providing a unique opportunity for high school seniors to explore the diverse fields of study and research offered by the faculty.

During the FER Open Day, visitors enjoyed a variety of activities, including playing Pong with artificial intelligence, witnessing robots cultivate plants in a greenhouse, and participating in a workshop on teaching robots to write. The event also featured a robotics workshop, a closer look at micro- and nano-electronics through a microscope, and a showcase of cutting-edge inventions and technologies in electrical engineering, information and communication technology, and computer science by FER staff and students. Notably, LARICS presented their projects Specularia and WatchPlant, and there was a special workshop tailored for elementary school students.

The 1st Croatian Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, organized by the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, held on November 21st, aimed to bring together the Croatian scientific community in the field of artificial intelligence, along with researchers from other scientific domains. The event facilitated the exchange of information, providing an overview of research activities and diverse applications.

The 28th edition of the PhD Café took place on November 15th at Booksa, where four young researchers, future doctors of science from the field of technical sciences, presented their research. Among them was Filip Zorić and he presented his research titled: Artificial Intelligence in Aerial Manipulation.

The City of Petrinja and the Petrinja Development Agency - PETRA organized a promotion event, November 6th, at the Sports Hall of the "Mate Lovrak" Elementary School in Petrinja. The event showcased the final projects of the first generation of participants from the Drone-IN Center for Innovation and Artificial Intelligence in Petrinja. During the event, the participants were awarded certificates and credentials as remote pilots.

Jaen, Spain - Stjepan Bogdan and Goran Vasiljević recently took part in a demonstration and final review meeting of the Aerial Core project, held at the ATLAS (Air Traffic Laboratory for Advanced Unmanned Systems) center in the province of Jaen, Spain. During the demonstration, various technologies developed throughout the project were showcased with great success. Reviewers expressed high satisfaction with the project's achieved results.

LARICS PhD student Ana Milas published an article ASEP: An Autonomous Semantic Exploration Planner With Object Labeling in scientific journal IEEE Access on 28^th of September 2023. You can find more details on this video.

A. Milas, A. Ivanovic and T. Petrovic, "ASEP: An Autonomous Semantic Exploration Planner With Object Labeling," in IEEE Access, vol. 11, pp. 107169-107183, 2023, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3320645.

On Thursday, October 19, 2023, the final conference of the Croatian-Swiss Research Program 2017-2023 (CSRP) was held at the Zagreb Innovation Center (ZICER). Professor Stjepan Bogdan, the vice dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing participated at the roundtable discussion on the future and challenges of the Croatian research system.

Topics discussed during the roundtable included the reputation and relevance of Croatian research institutions at the European and international levels, the potential of Croatian researchers to engage in international consortia, the capacity of Croatian institutions to attract and retain foreign scientists, the balance between fundamental and applied research, the importance of social and human sciences versus STEM fields, and the role of the Croatian Foundation for Science in the national system.

Filip Zorić participated at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) held in Detroit, USA from October 1st-5th, 2023.

At the conference, Filip zorić presented an article written in collaboration with the University of Seville, called Performance Comparison of Teleoperation Interfaces for Ultra-lightweight Anthropomorphic Arms, where the authors are: Filip Zorić, Alejandro Suarez, Goran Vasiljević, Matko Orsag, Zdenko Kovačić and Anibal Ollero.

See more details about the article check out this video.

Bruno Marić, PhD, presented a poster titled "Virtual pen: Human-friendly robot systems deployment" at the 16th International Workshop on Human-Friendly Robotics (HFR 2023). The workshop, scheduled for September 20-21, 2023, in Munich and organized by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), aims to explore current and future AI and robotic solutions in the context of human-robot interaction.

It focuses on human-centric applications in various settings, including homes, service scenarios, and industrial tasks. The event's goal is to bring together a diverse community of researchers, experts, and industrial partners working on creating safe and meaningful connections between robots and humans. Additionally, HFR 2023 emphasizes promoting innovative applications in human-centric environments and with human collaboration. The workshop also fosters collaboration, idea exchange, and the practical use of existing and emerging solutions in the realm of human-robot interaction and coexistence.

The second edition of AeroSTREAM Summer School was hel from 4th to 6th of July, and here's a glimpse into the action-packed days in Prague!

The core focus? Exploring various robotic realms such as motion planning for decision-making agents, aerial swarm dynamics, and the fusion of multi-sensors for precise localization and navigation.

But that's not all! We had dedicated time for AeroSTREAM activities, including brainstorming sessions on Aerostream research initiatives and seminars about real-world applications tackled within the AeroSTREAM project.

On 12^th of July LARICS researcher Marko Car successfully defended his doctoral dissertation and received a PhD degree in Electrical Engineering. Marko’s thesis is entitled "Control system for an unmanned aerial manipulator interacting with the environment based on a generalized model". Member of the PhD commite was prof. Adnan Tahirović a partner form University of Sarajevo and partner on AeroSTREAM project. Congratulations Marko!

We are delighted to share that on Monday, June 26, the students from the inaugural batch of the IFROS Master’s program (2021-2023) presented their master’s thesis projects. The members of the evaluation committee were highly impressed by the projects showcased by our talented students. Their presentations truly highlighted their dedication, effort, and outstanding quality of work. We wholeheartedly congratulate all the students on their remarkable achievements and wish them a future filled with boundless opportunities.

Students Marko Kozlik and Viktor Horvat from LARICS, under the guidance of Prof. Bogdan and Orsag, have been honored with the University's prestigious rector's award on 29th of June, 2023 for their outstanding individual scientific work. Their project, titled "FERbarium - self-sustainable wireless sensor node controlled by mobile application," has garnered attention for its innovative approach.

This project, aimed at developing a wireless sensor node for environmental monitoring in greenhouses and urban environments, is closely linked to the Specularia and WatchPlant initiatives. The groundbreaking work of Kozlik and Horvat not only contributes to scientific advancements but also aligns with real-world applications, emphasizing the importance of their research.

Stay tuned for more updates on their inspiring work and its impact on environmental monitoring.

On 28th of June 2023, WatchPlant meeting was held in Warszawa. LARICS members prof. Stjepan Bogdan and Marko Krizmančić presented the achievements from FER. The plan for the next goals was presented.

LARICS PhD student Marko Križmančić participated at the 2023 International Conference on Information, Communication and Automation Technologies (ICAT) in Sarajevo, where his paper "Decentralized Multi-Robot Formation Control Using Reinforcement Learning. Obradovic, J.; Krizmancic, M.; and Bogdan, S." was presented. In addition to this, Marko gave a talk at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the University of Sarajevo, about UNIZ-FER experience in MBZIRC competitions. The talk was very well received by the University of Sarajevo master students and researchers.

Goran Vasiljevic participated in the 10th Aerial Core Consortium Partner Meeting in Prague, Czech Republic on June 21-22, 2023. At the meeting, the current state of the project was presented and further experiments and final demonstrations of the project were agreed upon.

On 14^th of June LARICS researcher Antun Ivanović successfully defended his doctoral dissertation and received a PhD degree in Electrical Engineering. Antun’s thesis is entitled "Model based motion planning for manipulation with heterogeneous robotic systems under constraints". Congratulations Antun!

Marko Križmančić, a scientist from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing at the University of Zagreb, visited Sarajevo and delivered a presentation about LARICS' participation in the International Robotics Challenge in Abu Dhabi (MBZIRC). The presentation was part of the AeroStream project and was intended for his partners from AeroStream1 company and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Sarajevo, and it was attended by professors, doctoral candidates, and master's students.

Prof. Dr. Stjepan Bogdan and Marko Križmančić, collaborated on an article presented at the 29th International Conference on Information, Communication, and Automation Technologies (ICAT), held in Sarajevo from June 11 to June 14. The article was presented by Juraj Obradović, a scientist from the Laboratory for Underwater Systems and Technologies (LABUST) at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb. Find more details about the programme.

LARICS PhD student Marijana Peti published an article Decentralized Coordination of Multi-Agent Systems Based on POMDPs and Consensus for Active Perception in scientific journal IEEE Access on 2^nd of June 2023.

M. Peti, F. Petric and S. Bogdan, "Decentralized Coordination of Multi-Agent Systems Based on POMDPs and Consensus for Active Perception," in IEEE Access, vol. 11, pp. 52480-52491, 2023, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3280413.

We are proud to announce that seven doctoral students in total from the LARICS laboratory presented their research at this year's FER PhD Day through a series of inspiring posters. It is interesting to note that our seven posters make up an impressive 17.5 percent of all participants. The doctoral students who exhibited their work: Jurica Goričanec, Ivan Hrabar, Bruno Marić, Lovro Marković, Ana Milas, Juraj Oršulić and Ivo Vatavuk. Congratulations to everyone on the exceptional presentation of their dedicated work.

We especially want to highlight doctoral students Lovro Marković and Ivan Hrabar, whose posters deservedly entered the final selection for the best poster. We are extremely proud to announce that Ivan Hrabar won the award for the best poster, and presented his work during the central part of the PhD Day event.

You can view all the posters at: https://www.fer.unizg.hr/studiji/doktorski_studij/dan_doktorata/dan_doktorata_2023#%23!p_rep_155074!_-220046.

The 24th edition of the PhD Café took place on May 31st at Booksa, where four young researchers, future doctors of science from the field of technical sciences, presented their research. Among them was Ana Milas and she presented her research titled: Discovering the unknown: application of drones in space exploration.

As part of the Erasmus+ project Cogsteps, whose coordinator is FER, a startup education program called From Customers to Product was held. The program was held at the Technische Universität Graz. Dario Stuhne and Ivan Hrabar participated from LARICS, who considered the commercialization potential of the HEKTOR project.

Goran Vasiljević participated in integration and validation experiments at ATLAS 23.-25.5. ((Air Transport Laboratory for Advanced Unmanned Systems), Villacarillo (Jaen) Spain. Various parts of the Aerial Core project were tested, and we also participated in transmission line manipulation experiments.

Renowned experts Stjepan Bogdan from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing and Tomislav Radišić from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences have been appointed to the Technical Committee on Unmanned Aircraft Systems at the Croatian Standards Institute. The committee's main focus is to establish and coordinate Croatian norms and standards for unmanned aircraft systems, ensuring safe and efficient integration into the country's airspace. Bogdan and Radišić bring their extensive knowledge and experience in UAS operations, safety, and airspace integration, positioning Croatia as a leader in responsible unmanned aviation.

The recent MUZZA Science Week, held from May 19th to 21st at the Zagreb Trade Fair, successfully captivated the general public with its mission to showcase the captivating world of science. With a special focus on engaging children, the event aimed to spark curiosity and demonstrate the beauty of scientific exploration, and inspiring children to learn about science and technology.

Trieste, Italy - From May 15th to May 19th, robotics enthusiasts gathered for an inspiring training event. Professor Stjepan Bogdan from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering delivered a captivating lecture on the MARBLE project, while Filip Zorić conducted a tutorial on starting robots in Docker Terminal. Attendees left with valuable knowledge and newfound inspiration.

The Bounding Box Conference in Osijek was an incredible success, thanks to the outstanding organization by Protostar and the strong support of the Aerostream project. With captivating lectures, including one by Professor Bogdan titled Multi agent active perception based on Reinforcement Learning, the event surpassed all expectations. Held at the newly opened Business Centre, attendees engaged in fruitful networking and explored cutting-edge solutions. Relive the excitement at https://bounding-box.ai/ and stay tuned for future innovations!

Dario Stuhne published an article that will be presented at AIM 2023 international conference. The article is an exstension of previously published article Design and Prototyping of Soft Finger AI-Enabled Hand (SofIA). 

D. Stuhne, J. Tabak, M. Polić and M. Orsag, "Design and Prototyping of Soft Finger AI-Enabled Hand (SofIA)," 2022 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), Sapporo, Japan, 2022, pp. 1581-1586, doi: 10.1109/AIM52237.2022.9863338.

The HEKTOR project recently reached an important milestone with the completion of the final experiments.

The project focused on developing algorithms for autonomous robotic tasks in agriculture and mariculture, and the focus of the latest experiments was on the autonomous suckering and spraying in vineyards located on meliorated karst terrain.

Meliorated karst, characterized by distinctive limestone and dolomite rocks, presents a major challenge for agricultural activities. The in situ testing phase of the project included a series of rigorous trials to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the developed algorithms.

These tests provided valuable insights into the real-world performance of the autonomous robotic systems and allowed the team to identify potential areas for improvement and optimization.

LARICS members participated in the Science festival held on 24th-29th of April 2023 at the Technical Museum in Zagreb. LARICS participated in two events. First, within the Robotics@FER group and supported by project AeroSTREAM, Specularia and HEKTOR, a workshop entitled "Aerial robotics for Agriculture" organized by LARICS PhD student Robert Milijaš was held. In the workshop, a brief introduction of UAV possibilities and applications in the agriculture area were presented. Also, the visitors could see UAVs in action and test their piloting skills.  Second, a lecture about the EIC Pathfinder project Watchplant, entitled "Why do plants need a smartwatch?" was held by LARICS PhD student Marko Križmančić, who is a researcher at the project. As usual, the event attracted many visitors of all ages and led to interesting discussions. Special thank goes to LARICS bachelor students for helping run the workshop - Anja Bosak, Dorian Erić and Lovro Raguž.

One of our Pepper robots was involved with the Noc knjige at our Faculty, showcasing the robot reading skills and also hosting a pub-like quiz. Noc knjige (Croatian Book Night) is an event organized every year since 2012, marking the World book day and Croatian book day, with the aim of popularisation of reading and promotion of books. Since the 2023 edition of Croatian Book Night was organized with the theme "Do robots dream of electrical books?, it was only logical for our Pepper to participate.

On April 21st 2023,  the Central library of FER, lead by Mrs. Branka Marijanovic, organized an event "Book night at FER" that included two talks about artificial intelligence, one from perspective of computer science (held by professor Marko Đurasević from FER) and the other from the more philosophical point of view (held by professor Luka Perušić from Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences). Our robot Pepper joined the dean, professor Bilas, in opening the event by reading a passage from "2001: A Space Odyssey", was the host of the quiz for the four high-school student teams and closed the event by reading out the laws of robotics proposed by Isaac Asimov.

From 17^th to 20^th April 2023, at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb, LARICS organized an integration workshop for the project WatchPlant with project partners from the University of Konstanz and the University of Lübeck, as well as two of our master's students.

During the intense four days of focused work, the project consortium assembled a prototype heterogeneous sensor network consisting of 15 Bluetooth Low Energy, ZigBee, and LoRa devices and tested their reliability, range, power consumption, and ease of use. The workshop was successful and its results pave the way for setting up larger outdoor sensor networks later in the project.

For more information, check out the detailed report here.

Dario Stuhne published an article "Design and Validation of Wireless Drone Docking Station" at ICUAS 2023 international confrerence as an exstension to previously published article Design of a Wireless Drone Recharging Station and a Special Robot End Effector for Installation on a Power Line. The articles are being made as a part of AeroSTREAM and AERIAL CORE projects. The article will be presented at the conference, the work on implementation and system upgrade will be continued.

D. Stuhne et al., "Design of a Wireless Drone Recharging Station and a Special Robot End Effector for Installation on a Power Line," in IEEE Access, vol. 10, pp. 88719-88737, 2022, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3201351. 

Marijana Peti attended the International Symposium Underwater technologies 2023 (UT23) from 6th until 9th of March in Tokyo, Japan, University of Tokyo, Institute of Industrial Science. She presented an article in the environmental monitoring section: A Search Strategy and Vessel Detection in Maritime Environment Using Fixed-Wing UAVs, Marijana Peti, Ana Milas, Natko Kraševac, Marko Križmančic, Ivan Lončar, Nikola Miškovic, Stjepan Bogdan, FER, University of Zagreb.

Zdenko Kovačić, Goran Vasiljević, and Antun Ivanović, from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (UNIZG-FER), made an appearance at the European Robotics Forum (ERF2023) held in Odense, Denmark from March 13th to 16th, 2023. The project AeroSTREAM and LARICS lab were showcased with a stand in the exhibition area.

ERF is Europe's largest event dedicated to robotics, featuring a wide range of topics, such as aerial robotics, artificial intelligence, human-robot interaction, ethics, legal aspects, robotics in education, and entrepreneurship. The forum comprises plenary sessions with keynote speakers, technical workshops, interactive sessions, and an exhibition that displays the latest robotics technologies.

Their participation proved fruitful, resulting in the establishment of new connections within the community and opening up new collaboration opportunities with other researchers and end-users interested in aerial robotics and robotics in general.

Filip Zorić and Goran Vasiljević participated at the integration experiments in Seville and Beas de Segura in Spain from 13th-24th of February.

Matko Orsag attended the WORLD FIRA 2023 conference from 7th-9th of February in Toulouse, France. 

Ivan Hrabar held a humanoid robotics workshop on the 8th of February, 2023 at the Bjelovar robotics center
www.roboticki.com at the invitation of the Computer Association of Bjelovar - Bilogora County.

prof. Stjepan Bogdan, vice-dean for research and innovation at FER, recently presented the 3rd edition of DroneDays on HRT’s show! 🎉

Registrations for the third edition of aerial vehicles end-user workshop DroneDays 2023 are ready!
Don’t miss out!
Interesting lectures aerial vehicles end-user workshop, are now open! The third edition of DroneDays will be held 5th of May 2023 at Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing.
The registration package includes accreditation with access to all events (lectures, demonstrations in the flying zone, exhibition, coffee breaks, snack zone) and workshop materials. The number of registered participants is limited.

You can buy tickets here!

DroneDays 2023 is back again! The workshop is going to take place in Zagreb (Croatia) on the 4th and 5th of May 2023 at Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing. The programme is yet to be confirmed. Please check this webpage regularly for all the updates as well as the programme and registration details.

Dario Stuhne and Ivan Hrabar participated in the international workshop "From MVP to first customers", which was held in the Ljubljana University Incubator from 23rd of January until 5th of February 2023. The workshop was filled with rich programme of lectures and networking. At the workshop the vineyard robot VIV of the HEKTOR project was presented as a potential for commercialization.
 

On 24th-26th of January 2023, WatchPlant meeting was held in Sttutgart. LARICS members prof. Stjepan Bogdan and Marko Krizmančić presented the achievements from FER. The project received excellent feedback from reviewers and the project officer, thus the team continues with its work. The plan for the next goals was presented.

At the 4th conference on new technologies, robotization and automation in industry and construction CROATIA 4.0 - BRIGHT FUTURE prof. Stjepan Bogdan and Jurica Goričanec presented FER's 'SPIN-OFF' AVYONX AND AUTONOMOUS INSPECTION PROJECT of WIND PLANT WITH UAVS.

On Thursday, December 22, your favorite professors made a real Christmas spectacle! The last evening of the humanitarian advent week at KSET was brightened up by bands with FER professors and staff performing. The bands played a selection of Christmas classics and other hits. After the bands finished their performance, the Disco section of KSET kept up the dance floor atmosphere. We want to thank all of you for making this event so special, and wish you happy holidays from LARICS! 

FER professors play at...
1, 2, 3 and play professor!

On Thursday, December 22, don't miss the performance of your favorite professors who have prepared a Christmas spectacle! The last evening of the humanitarian advent week at KSET, from 8 p.m. onwards, will be brightened up by concerts by bands that have professors from FER in their composition, who will perform covers of Christmas classics, after which we will be kept on the dance floor by DJ mixes and the Disco section of KSET.

🤖🤖 The robots are returning to the Cultural Information Center Maskimir!!!! Our Christmas robot party will be held on Tuesday, December 13, 2022 in the large hall of the Center, Švarcova 18, from 12 to 8 p.m.!!! 🤖🤖 

On Saturday, November 26, 2022, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing opened its doors to all those who are interested in scientific research, advanced technologies, and applications of these technologies in everyday life! Members of LARICS were also there showing a series of scientific research and projects. Among them were project WatchPlant, Hektor, and many others. A new project, Aerostream was also intorduced.  

We are proud to announce that the winner of this year's "Nikola Tesla" award 2022 for exceptional scientific and professional contribution in the field of robotics and automation is none other than our Zdenko Kovačić. The prize is awarded by the Croatian section of the IEEE. 

The HEKTOR project at the International Fair of Agriculture, Agricultural Equipment and Machinery CroAGRO 2022, which will be held from December 1 to 4, 2022, at the Zagreb Fair. The HEKTOR project will be at the Croatian Association of Innovators. On Saturday, December 3, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Velesajam, there will be a workshop for winegrowers and winemakers: HEKTOR Robotic system for spraying and removing saplings in vineyards.

At the international meeting 1ST EUROPEAN CONGRESS OF BIOMEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENGINEERING – BIOMEDVETMECH 2022, held from 20-22.10. 2022 in Zagreb, Prof. Z. Kovačić held on 20.10. within the Medical Robotics keynote lecture section entitled “Robotics in Medicine – Projects of Laboratory for Robotics and Intelligent Control Systems (LARICS).” In it, he spoke about the results of research on the ADORA and Radiochirurgia – Rays of Hope projects, as well as internal research on the use of humanoid robots to assist medical personnel in providing care and health care and to assist during the performance of hand physical therapy exercises.

Dario Stuhne, Jelena Vuletić and Filip Zorić attended the International Conference on Smart Systems and Technologies (SST) which was held from 19th – 20th of October in Osijek. Dario Stuhne presented Automated Suckering of Vines with a Mobile Robot and a Torque-controlled Suckering Tool (Hektor), Jelena Vuletić presented Procedural generation of synthetic dataset for robotic applications in sweet pepper cultivation (Specularia). Filip Zorić presented Towards intuitive HMI for UAV control (Aerial Core) for which he was awarded with Best Paper Award.

The Young Professionals Interest Group, the Robotics and Automation Department (RA24) of the Croatian IEEE Section and the Laboratory for Robotics and Intelligent Control Systems (LARICS, Aerostream project) invite you to an interactive lecture: 
 
Run the bot in a Docker container 
 
which will be held by Filip Zorić, mag. ing. from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb, on Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. in hall A-211. 
 
The lecture is in Croatian, and the expected duration is 60 minutes. The lecture is open to anyone interested, and we especially invite undergraduate and graduate students. To participate, you need to register using the form. The number of places is limited. 
 
If you want to actively participate in the lecture, please bring your own computer with a charged battery and a Linux operating system. 
 
Read more information about the lecture and the lecturer in the more detailed content of the notification. 
 
The idea of ​​the interactive lecture is to familiarize you with the basic concepts of the Docker system for virtualization. The goal of the lecture is to install Docker and perform all the necessary steps to start a simple robot with ROS2. It is necessary to bring your own computer with a charged battery and a Linux operating system to the lecture. 

prof. Stjepan Bogdan held a lecture at AI2FUTURE2022 conference held from 13th –14th of October 2022, Zagreb where he presented ideas and results of od project WATCHPLANT. 

On September 22, 2022, a successful kick-off meeting for the AeroSTREAM project was held at the Hotel International in Zagreb. The AeroSTREAM project is a Horizon Europe project coordinated by UNIZG-FER and covers the field of aerial systems for forestry, agriculture and logistics. Project Officer Agne Dobranskyte-Niskota welcomed the attendees and wished us a successful project start. The consortium went through the work planned in work packages and prepared a plan for the first year.

Jelena Vuletić and Matko Orsag participated in the "15th International Workshop on Human-Friendly Robotics" conference in Delft, the Netherlands. Jelena Vuletić presented the paper "Robotic strawberry flower treatment based on deep-learning vision", in which the method for automatic image annotation, A3IA, was presented. 

Zdenko Kovačić participated in the RTL Direct show where, at the invitation of editor Mojmira Pastorčić, he gave a short interview on the subject of the public presentation of the humanoid robot Optimus by the world-famous innovator and entrepreneur Elon Musk. , which he claims will be produced and sold in millions for roughly $20,000.

For more information, read the article, while you can watch the interview here.

Mirta Čolić, Iva Hrastnik, Luka Karniš, Andro Katanec, Lovro Pliskovac and Dominik Sekula, mentored by assoc. prof. Matko Orsag and with help of assistant Jelena Vuletić, won the award for their work ‘digitalization system based on photogrammetry: “SimplyDigitize”. 

The abstract of their work is available on this link.  An example of use case of this system on a collection of stuffed animals can be seen on this link. 

Congratulations to the students and their mentors! 

On the 13^th of September 2022, LARICS participated in an unusual setting for robotics - a fashion show. The first independent fashion show by Croatian fashion brand Klisab, FALLFALL6, featured three spherical robots developed in collaboration between LARICS from FER at the University of Zagreb, TU Delft in the Netherlands, and Croatian artist Hrvoje Hiršl. To find out more about the project, check out our earlier post here, and for pictures and more information about the show and Klisab, visit their Facebook page. A short video of the show is available on YouTube.

Author of photograph: Karla Juric / @ninetofivestudio

ACM International Conference on Information Technology for Social Good (GoodIT) 2022 was held on September 07^th - 09^th in Limassol, Cyprus. LARICS researcher Marko Križmančić attended the conference and presented the paper "Distributed Connectivity Control in Bio-Hybrid Wireless Sensor Networks" (Marko Križmančić, Tim-Lucas Rabbel, Eduard Buss, Mostafa Wahby, Heiko Hamann, Stjepan Bogdan).

We are proud to announce that another paper, "PhytoNodes for Environmental Monitoring: Stimulus Classification based on Natural Plant Signals in an Interactive Energy-efficient Bio-hybrid System" (Eduard Buss, Tim-Lucas Rabbel, Viktor Horvat, Marko Krizmancic, Stjepan Bogdan, Mostafa Wahby, Heiko Hamann), presented by Eduard Buss and co-authored by LARICS members won the best paper award sponsored by MDPI “Sensors”. Congratulations!

On 11^th of August 2022, the local newspaper Jutarnji list featured a story about the project SubCULTron from Laboratory for Underwater Systems and Technologies (LABUST) and new project HEKTOR. Project subCULTron was a large Obzor2020 project worth almost four million euros led by prof. Nikola Mišković. The goal of the project was to create a flock of underwater robots composed of different platforms. It also brought together researchers from the University of Graz, the Free University of Brussels, the Swiss company Cybertronica Research, a non-profit research organization from France, and the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna University, the CORILA consortium from Italy. LABUST collaborated on the project with another FER laboratory, LARICS, which specializes in robotics and intelligent systems and is led by Stjepan Bogdan. Through the project, in Croatia alone, around 15 underwater robot experts have been created. The project is undergoing the process of commercialization.  

The full article is available here, while the pdf version can be downloaded here (in Croatian).   

Four LARICS researchers Jurica Goričanec, Lovro Marković Marijana Peti and Filip Zorić attended the AeroStream Summer School 2022 on multi robot systems held from 1^st to 4^th of August at Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic. A few lectures were from top academic researchers in the field of robotics, such as Anibal Ollero, Konstantinos Alexis, Martin Saska, etc. Each day a rich networking program was provided after the lectures in the form of social dinners and sightseeing trips. 

As a part of project Caliper, an interview was published, with LARICS Lab assistant professor Ph.D. Tamara Petrović. The goal of the interview is to promote horizontal principles, equality, and representation of women scientists at the university and their involvement in projects. 

LARICS members Stjepan Bogdan and Marko Krizmančić participated at the 4^th WatchPlant General assembly held from 13^th-14^th of July 2022 in Stockholm, Sweden, where all partners presented activities carried out during the last six months. The review meeting of the project WatchPlant was held on the 15^th of July 2022 in Stockholm, Sweden. At the meeting activities from the beginning of the project were presented to the representatives of the European commission. The project received excellent feedback from reviewers and the project officer, thus the team continues with its work.  

On 14^th of July LARICS team researcher Dario Stuhne attended the IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM2022) conference that was held from 11^th-15^th of July in hybrid form in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. The article "Design and Prototyping of Soft Finger AI-enabled Hand (SofIA)" was presented as a part of Specularia project. 

Filip Zoric, Stjepan Bogdan and Goran Vasiljevic participated at 2^nd review meeting of the Aerial Core project that was held in Lausanne, Switzerland and which was held during week 4^th to 8^th July 2022. The consortium presented the results of AERIAL-CORE's second period, performing demonstrations at EPFL, as well as streaming demonstrations from US, CTU, UT and Donecle.

On July 2^nd LARICS researchers Jelena Vuletić, Marijana Peti and Dario Stuhne attended the Innovation Day conference THINK BIG. They demonstrated manipulation of objects of irregular shapes with soft robotic hand (SOFIA) from project SPECULARIA and a smart biohybrid system for controlling and monitoring plants as a part of WATCH PLANT project.

At the conference 20 international and Croatian faculties and companies from the tech industry had an opportunity to present their innovations and projects to students from all over Croatia. The conference was held at Alpha Centauri campus organized by Infobip and STEMI as a part of “Škola budućnosti” project.  

More about the project “Škola budućnosti” you can find here. 

Read more news about the event in other media:  

https://magazin.hrt.hr/znanost-tehnologija/neki-od-osnovnoskolaca-u-buducnosti-baviti-poslovima-koji-jos-ne-postoje-8286187 

https://www.rtl.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/spoj-tehnologije-i-obrazovanja-izgleda-pun-je-pogodak-na-danima-inovacija-najvise-su-uzivali-najmladi-40b0ee0c-fa35-11ec-8a0c-8eb0c9ac1191 
https://www.24sata.hr/news/dan-inovacija-klinci-iz-cijele-hrvatske-zabavljali-se-uz-ai-robotiku-virtualnu-stvarnost-845957 
https://www.vecernji.hr/techsci/zelimo-kod-djece-potaknuti-think-big-mindset-i-motivirati-ih-da-kreiraju-bolju-buducnost-1599309 
https://www.istra24.hr/it-tech/dan-inovacija-u-infobipovom-kampusu-spojio-tehnolosku-zajednicu-s-ucenicima-i-uciteljima-iz-cijele-hrvatske 
https://www.netokracija.com/dan-inovacija-u-infobipovom-kampusu-196510 
https://www.bug.hr/obrazovanje/dan-inovacija-spojio-tehnolosku-zajednicu-s-ucenicima-i-uciteljima-iz-cijele-28050 
https://www.poslovni.hr/sci-tech/nasi-ucenici-u-par-mjeseci-izradili-chatbot-pa-to-se-uci-godinama-4344017 
https://www.srednja.hr/novosti/tehnologije-buducnosti-u-skolama-djeca-ce-u-svojim-ucionicama-napraviti-pametne-vrtove/ 

On 28^th of June 2022 professor Stjepan Bogdan presented Autonomous inspection of wind turbines by unmanned UAV as a part of the workshop Application of Robotics in Sustainability and Environmental Aspects held at the European Robotics Forum (ERF2022).

The forum was held in Rotterdam, Netherlands from 28^th-30^th of June 2022. It is one of the most influential events for the robotics and artificial intelligence community in Europe. This year's theme was Sustainability, where high level speakers from industry, knowledge institutes and government shared their vision on the various sustainability topics.

In summer semester of the academic year 2021/2022 students Marija Piliškić, Denis Đurašinović, Filip Pušnik, Josip Ante Kozulić and Filip Karaj participated in the ARIAC competition organized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).  The focus of the competition is testing the agility of industrial robot systems, with the goal of enabling industrial robots to be more productive and more autonomous. In Gazebo simulator the infrastructure for the production of ventilators was constructed, and two robot arms UR10 which autonomously did given tasks of kitting and assembly. After solving kinematics and elementary moving of robots, the team implemented a system which solves agility challenges like flipped part, faulty product, high-priority orders, human obstacles, and what to do if sensors are faulty.

Various teams from Chinese Academy of Sciences, universities from USA, laboratories from Sri Lanka and South America participated in the competition, and our students successfully passed the first part of the competition and qualified for the finals. In the final, they won a high 6^th place.

This year's international ICUAS conference on Unmanned Aircraft systems was held in Dubrovnik from 21^st until 24^th of June 2022. The main theme of the conference had two aspects: aerial robotics and navigation, and control of manned-unmanned systems. In addition to excellent organization and a handful of content, this year's conference was the first time a student UAV competition was held. One of the organizers of the conference was LARICS (Laboratory for robotics and intelligent control systems) lab.  

The conference was fully sponsored by the ICUAS Association, a non-profit organization. The platinum sponsor was the Technical Innovation institute. Technical co-sponsors were the IEEE Control Systems Society, IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, and IEEE, Mediterranean Control Association. Sponsors of the UAV competition were Croatia Control Ltd. (CCL)., F4F Fly4Future, Info-kod, special sponsors: Army Research Office, academic sponsors: University of Denver, the University of South-Eastern Norway and University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing. In total 292 participants took part in the conference, of which 233 were live, including 5 keynote speakers and 16 volunteers, 63 students and 121 full-time researchers, and 59 in virtual form.  

The excellent atmosphere at the conference can be seen in our photo gallery. 

Three members of the LARICS lab Ana Batinovic, Antun Ivanović, Lovro Marković and Goran Vasiljević attended the international ICUAS conference on Unmanned Aircraft systems that was held in Dubrovnik from 21^st until 24^th of June 2022. The main theme of the conference had two aspects: aerial robotics and navigation, and control of manned-unmanned systems.

Ana Batinovic presented "Path Planning with Potential Field-Based Obstacle Avoidance in a 3D Environment by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle". 

Antun Ivanović presented "Render-in-the-loop Aerial Robotics Simulator: Case Study on Yield Estimation in Indoor Agriculture". 

Lovro Marković presented "Error State Extended Kalman Filter Multi-Sensor Fusion for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Localization in GPS and Magnetometer Denied Indoor Environments". 

Goran Vasiljevic presented "Validation of Two-Wire Power Line UAV Localization Based on the Magnetic Field Strengt".

A. Batinovic, J. Goricanec, L. Markovic and S. Bogdan, "Path Planning with Potential Field-Based Obstacle Avoidance in a 3D Environment by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle," 2022 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), 2022, pp. 394-401, doi: 10.1109/ICUAS54217.2022.9836159. 

A. Ivanovic, M. Polic, J. Tabak and M. Orsag, "Render-in-the-loop Aerial Robotics Simulator: Case Study on Yield Estimation in Indoor Agriculture," 2022 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), 2022, pp. 787-793, doi: 10.1109/ICUAS54217.2022.9836121. 

L. Marković, M. Kovač, R. Milijas, M. Car and S. Bogdan, "Error State Extended Kalman Filter Multi-Sensor Fusion for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Localization in GPS and Magnetometer Denied Indoor Environments," 2022 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), 2022, pp. 184-190, doi: 10.1109/ICUAS54217.2022.9836124. 

G. Vasiljević, D. Martinović, M. Batoš and S. Bogdan, "Validation of two-wire power line UAV localization based on the magnetic field strength," 2022 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), 2022, pp. 434-441, doi: 10.1109/ICUAS54217.2022.9836106.

As part of the 2022 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), LARICS team organized Aerial Core workshop named “Aerial Core – boosting the adoption of aerial robotics in real-world applications”. The workshop was attended by more than 20 participants, including representatives from electric power companies from Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Hercegovina.

Goran Vasiljevic visited Spain from 8^th to 16^th June 2022 where he participated at integration of Main Local-Manipulation Platform (MLMP), developed within the Aerial Core project. MLMP consists of end-effector for installation of recharging station developed by LARICS, robotic arm developed by CREATE and aerial platform developed by CATEC. After successful indoor experiments at CATEC in Seville, the experiments continued outdoor in Atlas Tactical Center at Beas de Segura.

LARICS researchers Jelena Vuletić and Marijana Peti attended the 17th Intelligent Autonomous systems (IAS-17) conference held from 13th-16th of June in Zagreb, Croatia. 

Jelena Vuletić presented an article Towards Synthetic Data: Dealing with the Texture-Bias in Sim2real Learning.  
 

Marijana Peti presented Multi-agent Coordination based on POMDPs and Consensus for Active Perception. 

Tabak, J., Polić, M. and Orsag, M., Towards Synthetic Data: Dealing with the Texture-Bias in Sim2real Learning (2021), in 2021 17th Intelligent Autonomous systems (IAS-17) conference.  

Petric F., Peti M. and Bogdan S., Multi-agent Coordination based on POMDPs and Consensus for Active Perception (2021), in 2021 17th Intelligent Autonomous systems (IAS-17) conference. 

Last week, on Tuesday, 24th of May 2022, we had a final review meeting for the AeRoTwin project, where we reported to the project officer Mr. Antonio Scarafino and the external reviewer Mrs. Jolanta Mallon on all the activities done within the project. The overall assessment of the project was very positive, and both the project officer and the external reviewer gave us valuable feedback on what could be done to better disseminate and report the project results.

As this is the last official event for the project, we would like to thank our project partners Aerial Robotics Lab from the Imperial College London, Technological Corporation of Andalusia - CTA and Robotics, Vision and Control Group from the University of Seville for their great efforts in making the AeRoTwin project a real success story. It has been a pleasure working with you and we look forward to new such opportunities in the future!

Professor Stjepan Bogdan held the main lecture about Unmanned Aerial System for Inspection and Maintenance of Industrial and Civil Structure a the Aerial and Space Robotics workshop held on the 1^st of June at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. The workshop was organized by AFRL-UNM Agile Manufacturing (AgMan) Lab. A concise summary of the lecture can be found here. 

At the 13th international fair in agriculture, food industry and agricultural mechanization AGRO ARCA 2022, two FERs innovations won the highest prizes. 

The Autonomous catamaran for aquaculture secured the highest award “Grand Prix” for the authors Nadir Kapetanović, mag. ing., doc. dr. sc. Đula Nađa, Nikica Kokir, mag. ing., Martin Oreč, mag. ing., Kristijan Krčmar, mag. ing. i prof. dr. sc. Nikola Mišković. 

Heterogeneous robotic system, whose authors are Ivo Vatavuk, mag. ing., Marko Cukon, Dario Stuhne, mag. ing., Ivan Hrabar, mag. ing., Jurica Goričanec, mag. ing. i prof. dr. sc. Zdenko Kovačić, was awarded with the Golden medal.  

The president of Croatian community of innovators prof. dr. sc. Miljenko Šimpraga, in his speech emphasized the importance of innovations in agriculture as well as the significance of collaboration with the academic community.  

The 13th international fair in agriculture, food industry and agricultural mechanization AGRO ARCA 2022 took place from 13th-15th of May 2022. The fair was organized by Croatian community of innovators and city of Prelog. On the fair participated 130 presenters from 11 countries. In total, 16 gold, 18 silver and 21 bronze medals were divided into categories of junior and senior innovators. 

Laboratory for robotics and intelligent control systems (LARICS) was featured in the student papers Global. LARICS is the first official experimental laboratory at the FER, established in 2011. The team consists of 24 members, including 4 professors, 4 postdoctoral researchers and 16 Ph.D. candidates, led by Professor Zdenko Kovačić.   

Discover how they inspire students with a variety of different experiments and projects, and how the application of their solutions is changing the industry in the article “FER-ovi vizionari motiviraju studente i mijenaju svijet.” 

After two challenging COVID years, the annual Croatian Science Festival, an event aiming to bring science closer to the general public, finally took place live and in all its glory from 2nd to 7th May 2022. The main theme of this year's festival was celebrating and learning everything about life. Topics ranged from its definition to its preservation, from molecular biology, chemistry and psychology to advanced technologies and beyond. As our lives are quickly becoming unimaginable without robots, LARICS also participated as part of the robotics@fer.hr brand in collaboration with LABUST and LAMOR.

Jelena Vuletić, Marijana Peti, Dario Stuhne, Marko Križmančić, Matko Orsag and Stjepan Bogdan prepared an interactive exhibition to showcase two fascinating projects that aim to improve life through smart agriculture and better environmental monitoring: Specularia and WatchPlant. Marko also gave a presentation on the WatchPlant project, including its mission, concept, and current technological advances.

More photos from the festival can be found in the gallery.

From 15^th to 20^th May 2022 Filip Zoric and Goran Vasiljevic visited EPFL in Switzerland, where they participated in integration activities of Aerial Core project. Human machine interface developed by LARICS was successfully integrated with fixed wing-rotary wing UAV developed by EPFL.

We are pleased to announce that our Professor Stjepan Bogdan has been elected as the new FER vice-dean for Research and Innovation. His mandate will start in October this year.

We wish him the best of luck in his new role! :D

https://www.fer.unizg.hr/novosti?@=2vntn

April 12, 2022 - Natalia Ivanjko, Katarina Mužina, Ana Novačić, and Marsela Polić are this year's scholarship holders of the National Scholarship Program "For Women in Science" organized by L’Oréal Adria and the Croatian Commission for UNESCO at the Ministry of Culture and Media.

The scholarship program has been running in Croatia for sixteen years, and by decision of leading Croatian scientists, four scholarships in the amount of 5,000 euros are awarded to the four best Croatian scientists under 35 from the field of natural sciences, including interdisciplinary fields, which are in the final year of their Ph.D. studies.

Congratulations Marsela!

More info on the link: https://min-kulture.gov.hr/vijesti-8/svecano-dodijeljene-stipendije-nacionalnog-programa-stipendiranja-za-zene-u-znanosti/22187

On March 11, 2022 LARICS researcher Marsela Polić successfully defended her doctoral dissertation and received a PhD degree in Electrical Engineering. Marsela’s thesis is entitled “Soft robotic manipulation in agrotechnical procedures based on machine and deep learning”.

Antun Ivanović and Lovro Marković (UNIZG FER) visited the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) for a week in February 2022. While at the facilities, they worked closely with Prof. Mirko Kovac (ICL), EMPA researchers David Häusermann​, Fabian Wiesemüller​, and Cedric Portmann, and ICL researchers Bahadir Kocer, Lachlan Orr, and Oscar Pang.

They have continued the collaboration established by Bahadir Kocer's visit to UNIZG FER in February 2020. The team is collaborating on the development of an aerial robotics team for autonomous construction. They are developing planning and control algorithms and exploring new materials and adhesives to enable efficient and robust autonomous construction with a team of drones.

During their stay, they have been working on integrating aerial systems from the two groups and preparing for ICL's upcoming visit to UNIZG FER for further experimental verification in preparation for a joint publication.

LARICS has participated at IFAM 2022, B2B Trade fair Robotics in Ljubljana 15.02.-17.02.22. which is the only event in Slovenia and the CEE region that dedicates to robotics and unmanned systems. Robotics is tailor-made for exhibitors and gives them a platform for presenting their range of robot technologies in both industrial and service robot sectors. Prof. Zdenko Kovačić has come with its team, researchers Ivan Hrabar, mag.ing. and Ivo Vatavuk, mag.ing. and project manager Vlatka Kovačević. LARICS had one of the most visited booths. It was very attractive with a mobile manipulator which was „spraying the vineyard“ and there was an automated guided vehicle, forklift the product of spin-off company Romb Technologies. The automated guided forklift is produced in collaboration with the company VAR d.o.o.

More photos from the fair are available in the gallery.

During Staff Exchange 2, Research Plan, the LARICS team visited partner CTA and US facilities. LARICS Project Manager Vlatka Kovačević met with the Project partner CTA (Technological Corporation of Andalusia) Head of Aerospace Sector Silvia de los Santos and Consultant Marta Marcias and Communication Department Officers Marisol Castro Rey and Natalia Gutierrez Roa.

The goal of this short-term visit was to provide UNIZG-FER project management staff with direct insight into administrative processes in CTA that are related to innovation management and technology transfer. Vlatka has also with Silvia and LARICS Team (Robert Milijaš and Marko Križmančić) visited CATEC (Advanced Center for Aerospace Technologies).

The main outcome of this trip was the enhancement of the reputation, attractiveness, and networking channels of LARICS and raising the profile of its staff thanks to knowledge exchange (best practices, lessons learned).

In the last series of visits in the AeroTwin staff exchange program, LARICS PhD students Marko Križmančić and Robert Milijaš spent three weeks at the University of Seville (USE), Spain from January 15 to February 6. They were working at the Department for Systems and Automatic Engineering under the supervision of Professor José Ramiro Martinez de Dios. Marko worked on designing a new mission planning algorithm for multi-robot systems with the help of USE professor Ivan Maza, while Robert compared the SLAM algorithms and hardware used by the GRVC group at USE to the approaches used in LARICS. During the exchange, several fruitful meetings were held which resulted in plans for future scientific publications.

On February 7, 2022 LARICS researcher Barbara Arbanas Ferreira successfully defended her doctoral dissertation and received a Doctor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. Barbara’s thesis was entitled “Decentralized mission planning for heterogeneous robotic teams based on hierarchical task representation”.

The thesis was co-supervised by Prof. Stjepan Bogdan (UNIZG FER) and Prof. José Ramiro Martinez de Dios (USE).

The Advent fever did not bypass the robots and drones that occupied the Maksimir Center for Culture and Information at Švarcova 18 on Wednesday, December 22, from 1 pm to 8 pm, and served visitors hot drinks and Christmas treats!

Our lab members introduced visitors to robots Franka, Pepper, Kinova, and Schunk in the Advent house in front of the Center who rolled up their sleeves to warm the visitors in these cold days and brighten the upcoming holidays.

Robots prepared and served hot drinks and Christmas treats, and at the same time in front of the Center, there were presentations of robots intended for primary and secondary school students where they learned firsthand how robots can communicate with plants and learn how to fly drones.

Pupils could also drive robots and make a 2D map or find out how artificial intelligence can warn us in a cheap and environmentally friendly way about the quality of air, soil, and water in our environment. They also learned how robots and plants communicate with each other and how a 3D model of a building model can be made with a drone.

Four parallel workshops were conducted during the entire day: LIDAR workshop, WatchPlant workshop, ASAP/ENCORE workshop, HEKTOR workshop.

More photos from the event are available in the gallery.

The LARICS members Stjepan Bogdan and Marko Križmančić participated in the 3^th WatchPlant General Assembly, which took place from 13^th to 14^th December, 2021, in Seville. During the meeting, the LARICS team presented results of the project activities that have been carried out in our laboratory during the last six months.

The LARICS members Zdenko Kovačić, Stjepan Bogdan and Goran Vasiljević participated in the 5^th Aerial Core General Meeting, which took place from 9^th to 10^th November, 2021, in Zurich. During the meeting, the LARICS team presented project activities that have been carried out in our laboratory during the last six months.

As a part of "Introduction to the Project Management" seminar, organized by Bicro BIOCentar, Zagreb, on October 26, 2021, prof. Bogdan presented LARICS experience in the scientific projects management. Some tips and tricks in a project proposal writing has been shared with the audience as well.

As part of the national InfoDay on Horizon Europe Widening program, that was held on-line on October 28, 2021, prof. Bogdan presented the H2020 AeroTwin project, as an example of a very successful implementation of the project within the widening program. During the presentation prof. Bogdan shared with the participants his experiences in coordinating the twinning project and writing proposals.  

Prof. Stjepan Bogdan attended on October 28, 2021,  3rd Conference on New Technologies, Robotization and Automatization in Industry and Buildings - Hrvatska 4.0 organised by Energetika Marketing. The conference, that was related to the social and economic changes that are faster and greater than ever due to the implementation of new technologies and solutions, was held in Zagreb. Prof. Bogdan has been invited to presented H2020 project Watchplant.

Trend and Innovation Network Dialogue Meeting - Automation & Robotics workshop was held on Thursday, October 7, 2021. On that occasion, Prof. Zdenko Kovačić held a presentation on "Review of research in the Laboratory for Robotics and Intelligent Control Systems", and then participated in the round table.

The workshop was organized by the Croatian Agency for SMEs, Innovation and Investments (HAMAG-BICRO), as part of the project "Central Europe Upstreaming for Policy Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing & Industry 4.0 towards 2030 - CEUP2030".

Prof. Zdenko Kovačić attended on October 6, 2021 a conference "Robotics - From Workshop to Market" organised by the Embassy of Italy. The conference was related to the event "Industry Challenges 4.0: Research, Innovation and New Technologies as Tools to Increase Business Competitiveness", held in April last year in Zagreb. Prof. Kovačić participated as a member of a round table.

The conference was held at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture (FSB) of the University of Zagreb and focused on three important topics: the use of robotics and advanced automation in the manufacturing industry and related services; the impact of training systems and research activities on innovation and entrepreneurship; as well as promoting a support and guidance framework for researchers, innovators and companies introducing advanced technologies. 

Project partners finally gathered for the 2nd edition of DroneDays 2021 that took place in Biograd na Moru, Croatia. The aerial robotics workshop was held on the 4th and 5th of October, organized by LARICS team. Each partner participated by giving lectures and presenting their work through tutorials and hands-on implementing project activities.

Expert lectures were given by:

• Prof. Mirko Kovac (ICL) on Multi-modal Aerial Robotics for Environmental Sensing and Construction
• Prof. José Ramiro Martines de Dios (USE) on Heterogenous Aerial Robot Cooperation for Inspection and Maintenance

Tutorials and hands-on were given by:

• Silvia de los Santos (CTA) on Technology Transfer Actions and Key aspects for the creation of a successful spin-off
• André Farinha, Constança Rosas and Mirko Kovac (ICL) on The intricacies of looking underwater with a drone – A dual agent system for aerial and underwater operations
• Ashutosh Choubey (ICL) on Commercialisation of university based R&D projects
• Julio L. Paneque and Raúl Tapia (USE) on Heterogeneous Robot Cooperation

The event was successful with 90 registered participants, 16 lectures, 6 demonstration flights, and 200 visitors of the exhibition area where 7 companies presented their products and services. 

Photos of the event are available in the gallery of the DroneDays official website.

At this year’s edition of MIPRO 2021 – International Convention on Information, Communication and Electronic Technology, Prof. Zdenko Kovačić presented the paper “Collecting information for biomass estimation in mariculture with a heterogeneous robotic system” (Rezo, M.; Čagalj K. M.; Kovačić, Z.).

HEKTOR’s researcher Ivan Hrabar presented the paper “Towards Autonomous Navigation of a Mobile Manipulator in a Steep Slope Vineyard” (Hrabar, I.; Goričanec, J.; Kovačić, Z.).

The conference was held in hybrid form from September 27 to October 1, with live sessions in Opatija, Croatia.

On Friday, 1 October 2021, a group of eight upper-grade students from the Elementary School Eugen Kvaternik in Velika Gorica visited the LARICS lab accompanied by their informatics teacher Dalija Kager.

The students had the opportunity to see LARICS’ labs, 3D printers in action, and various robotic equipment such as the Schunk robotic arm currently used for installing power line separators in the AERIAL-CORE project.

The main reason for their visit, however, was to learn about how we can measure the well-being of plants and use that information to model our surroundings – a goal we are actively pursuing as a part of the WATCHPLANT project. The students learned about various types of sensors we use for that purpose and got to observe the changes in measured values in real time as they interacted with the plants. They also helped us to water the plants properly using a soil humidity sensor. The children and even their teacher had a lot of interesting questions about the project and our lab, and they were excited to share their own experience with microcontrollers and programming with us.

Check out some photos from the visit in the Gallery.

At this year's edition of the 29th International Conference on Software, Communications and Computer Networks - SoftCom,  Ivan Hrabar presented the paper Towards Supervised Robot-assisted Physical Therapy after Hand Fractures (Hrabar, I.; Čelan, B., Matić, D., Jerković, N., Kovačić, Z.). The conference was held in Hvar, Croatia, September 23-25 2021,  co-organized by the University of Split, FESB and Croatian Communications and Information Society (CCIS),  and technically co-sponsored by the IEEE Communications Society.

On 23 September 2021, the TV show “Prometej” aired on Croatian National Television (HRT) showing several interesting reports of scientific news in Croatia, including a report about the WATCHPLANT project. LARICS members prof. Stjepan Bogdan, Dean Martinović, Ph.D., Marijana Peti, and Marko Križmančić presented the goals of the project, its importance for the general public, and the current progress of the research. They also talked about the most interesting parts of the project, such as the development of sensors, establishing a communication network between devices, and the novel idea of extracting energy from plants’ sap flow.

The whole show is available to registered users on the HRTi platform, while the WATCHPLANT report can be seen on LARICS YouTube channel. The show is in Croatian.

Since LARICS team is constantly growing, so is the need for more space. Last weeek, the construction of a new facililty was finalized. The new offices are now detached to the testing ground. Wishing the LARICS team a lot of experiments and reserach results!