The design, development, sea trials and exploitation of the SESAMO (SEa Surface Autonomous MOdular unit) platform, an autonomous surface vessel for the study and characterization of the air-sea interface, are presented. The SESAMO prototype robot, developed by the robotics group of CNR-ISSIA, Genova branch, in strict cooperation with the scientific end-users in the framework of a project of the Italian National Program of Research in Antarctica (PNRA), was able to sample the sea surface microlayer and immediate sub-surface. After satisfactory basic at field trials of the navigation, guidance and control (NGC) and sampling systems, the robotised catamaran was exploited by the scientific end-users for water sample collection in the area of Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea, Antarctica, in the framework of the PNRA project Chemical contamination.

The problem of designing an interface between the continuous-state and the discrete-state domains of intelligent control architectures is addressed, focusing on the case of a hierarchical navigation, guidance and control (NGC) architecture for unmanned underwater vehicles. The proposed interface represents the underlying continuous-state execution level as a discrete event system using a Petri net formalism. The correct behavior of the execution level is ensured, checking that no forbidden state is reached and that the proper task activation and deactivation order is respected. Methodologies for the off-line generation of the Petri net representation of the execution level and automatic system reconfiguration are presented.

AMADEUS is a dexterous subsea robot hand incorporating force and slip contact sensing, using fluid-filled tentacles for fingers. Hydraulic pressure variations in each of three flexible tubes (bellows) in each finger create a bending moment, and consequent motion or increase in contact force during grasping. Such fingers have inherent passive compliance, no moving parts, and are naturally depth pressure-compensated, making them ideal for reliable use in the deep ocean. In addition to the mechanical design, development of the hand has also been considered for closed loop finger position and force control, coordinated finger motion for grasping, force and slip sensor development/signal processing, and reactive world modelling/planning for supervisory "blind grasping". Initially, the application focus is for marine science tasks, but broader roles in offshore oil and gas, salvage, and military use are foreseen. Phase I of the project has been completed, with the construction of a first prototype. This paper summarizes the developments in Phase I. Further details for each area of investigation are referenced.

This paper presents activities in the field of underwater robotics carried out at the Naval Automation Institute of the Italian National Research Council. The ultimate goal is the development of an autonomous underwater vehicle for research purposes. A bottom-up approach has been adopted and efforts are focused on the automation of undersea tasks. A prototype vehicle called ROBY has been designed and a dynamic AUV simulator, known as ROBYSIM has been implemented. Brief considerations on ROBY's technical characteristics and software control architecture are followed by a description of ROBYSIM. Work performed on the control and sensor filtering modules of the architecture is subsequently reviewed. Finally, experimental tests are briefly described and experimental results are compared to the outcome of simulation.