The SARTI-MAR research group from UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE CATALUNYA, has the fundamental objective of developing scientific instrumentation for environmental parameters, with special emphasis on the marine environment.
SARTI-MAR will contribute on Merlin with its technological background on marine technologies design.
Team members
Dr. Joaquin del Río Fernández
Professor of Electronic Instrumentation at the Department of Electronic Engineering, Polytechnic University of Catalonia since 2001. Director of the SARTI-MAR research group, recognized and funded by the Generalitat of Catalonia. Member of the Tecnoterra Associated Unit at the Higher Council for Scientific Research through the Institute of Marine Sciences (since May 14, 2001), and the SARTI Technological Development Center, certified with ISO 9001:2015 for the application field of Electronic Design, Software Applications, Environmental Studies, Training Management for Company and Occupational in the field of IT and electronics. ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation issued by ENAC (ISO/IEC 152/LC375) as a Metrology Laboratory. Member of the Network of Technological Innovation Centers. CIDEM Generalitat de Catalunya, recognized technological agents as members of the Technological Network of Catalonia, TECNIO.
Currently (2024) leading the projects: Joint Effort between Biology and Technology to Monitor and Recover Species and Ecosystems Impacted by Fishing (PID2020-114732RBC32), Long-Term Platform for the Observation of Marine Ecosystems (PLEC2021-007525), 3D Slag Concrete Manufacturing Solutions for Marine Biotopes (TED2021-129760B-I00).
Regarding competitive projects, in the last 10 years, I have participated in 14 European FP7 and H2020 projects as PI in my institution, leading different tasks and work packages, and 9 national projects. Since 2010, the research work with the design and construction of the Obsea underwater observatory has focused on the implementation of interoperable marine sensor networks. The full operability of the OBSEA observatory and its expansion with more nodes, equipment, and infrastructures have allowed an increase in internationalization through interaction with research groups of European networks (ESONET, EMSO-ERIC, and JERICO-RI) and American observatories (MBARI and Neptune). It is expected that the standardization processes in which we participate will generate added value and benefits.
In the last five years, scientific achievements have been reflected in the participation in 45 papers at international conferences and more than 25 articles in JCR-indexed journals, as well as contributions to various book chapters such as: Towards an optimal design for ecosystem-level ocean observatories (ISSN0078-3218), Ocean in-situ sensors: cross-cutting innovations. A new generation of interoperable oceanic passive acoustic sensors with embedded processing, and, From sensor to user-interoperability of sensors and data systems. Sensor interoperability protocol for seamless cross-platform sensor integration (DOI: 10.1016/C2015-0-06798-3), Subsea optics and imaging (ISBN-13: 978-0857093417).
Dr. Daniel Toma
Professor of Electronic Instrumentation at the Department of Electronic Engineering, Polytechnic University of Catalonia since 2021. Since 2009, I am member of the research group “Remote Acquisition Systems and Data Processing (SARTI)” from UPC, certified with ISO 9001: 2015 for the field of application Electronic Design, Computer Applications, Environmental Studies, Management of Training for Business and Occupational in computer science and electronics. As of 2010, Is member of the Tecnoterra Associated Unit to the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) through the Jaume Almera Institutes of Earth Sciences and the Institute of Marine Sciences. I received the M.Sc. degrees in Electronic Engineering, in 2008 from the Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iaşi, Spain and in 2012, I obtained the PhD in Electronic Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), Barcelona.
I applied my expertise in 12 European Union FP7, H2020 and HORIZON EUROPE 2021-2027, and 11 national and regional funded projects, in the field of ocean in-situ observing systems, to find new solutions for the development of complementary measurement technologies that can be hosted by multiple types of in-situ observing systems, including mobile and fixed platforms. In this regard, in the European Union FP7-614102-NeXOS project, I was leading the development of multifunctional passive acoustics sensor systems for in-situ sensing of underwater noise, both ambient and anthropogenic, and marine life, as well as relevant ancillary variables. The development of the passive acoustic sensor systems was done to provide on-board acoustic processing. This allows monitoring of multiple variables from a single ocean passive acoustics system, for the chosen platforms. The monitoring algorithms include tracking, measuring and classifying features relevant to Marine Strategy Framework Directive Descriptor 11 (Energy/Underwater Noise) and Descriptor 1 (Biodiversity).
Research work since 2010, with the design and construction of the OBSEA underwater observatory, has focused on the implementation of interoperable marine sensor networks. The full operation of the OBSEA, and its expansion with equipment and infrastructures, has allowed an increase in internationalisation through interaction with research groups of the Europe networks (ESONET, EMSO-ERIC and JERICO-RI) and the American observatories (MBARI and Neptune).
Dr. Matias Carandell Widmer
Matias Carandell Widmer earned both his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Industrial Engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in 2015, with a specialization in Electrical Engineering. Subsequent to completing these degrees, he dedicated one year to research at the Universidad Técnica Federica Santa Maria (UTFSM) in Chile, focusing on the simulation of solar power converters. In 2017, he secured a scholarship from ALSTOM to pursue an M.S. in Railway Systems and Electric Traction at UPC. In 2018, he was awarded the prestigious FI-AGAUR pre-doctoral research fellowship (FI Agaur grant ref. BDNS 362582) to undertake his Ph.D. at UPC within the SARTI-MAR research group. The primary focus of this group lies in the design, development, and testing of marine oceanographic data acquisition systems. He successfully concluded his Ph.D. in April 2022, attaining a Cum Laude qualification. Throughout his pre-doctoral tenure, his academic achievements were further highlighted by two selections for participation in the Student Poster Competition at the OES Ocean Conference, in Oceans Marseille 2017 and Oceans Singapore 2020. The latter instance resulted in him being awarded the second prize. Additionally, he engaged in two international research stays during his Ph.D. program: a five-month remote collaboration (due to COVID restrictions) with Imperial College, culminating in a one-week in-person visit in 2021, and a one-month stay at the University of Birmingham. In 2022, he was honored with a Margarita Salas post-doctoral research fellowship (ref. 2022UPC-MSC-94068). This fellowship entails the first year at ICM-CSIC and the subsequent year within the SARTI-MAR research group at UPC. His research during this period will be linked to the PLOME Project, aiming to enhance our understanding of marine fishing protected areas by improving the underwater communication capabilities of stand-alone marine platforms.
His research endeavours have resulted in a significant scientific output, encompassing three articles in Q1 indexed journals and four in Q2, along with over 20 publications stemming from various congresses. Over the years, he actively contributed to numerous international projects funded by the European Commission, including ANERIS, Jerico-S3, MELOA, EMSODEV, EMSO-Link, as well as several national projects like GIRASOL, PLOME, RESBIO, and BITER-LANDER. In addition to his academic pursuits, he engaged in knowledge transfer activities with industry leaders, such as ALSTOM, Top Cable, and DOGA. His skill set extends to the assembly, maintenance, and tuning of oceanographic instrumentation. He has also acquired certifications as a skipper of recreational boats and a professional shallow diver, participating in more than 150 field activities along the Catalan coast.
Dr. Marc Nogueras Cervera
Marc Nogueras Cervera was born in Catalonia, Spain, in 1976. He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Telecommunication Engineering, in 1999 and 2003, respectively, both from the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), Spain and the Master’s degree in Electronic Engineering at Rovira i Virgili University in 2012. Since 2006, he has been a member of the research group “Remote Acquisition Systems and Data Processing (SARTI)”, focusing his work on the development, maintenance and exploitation of the underwater cabled observatory “OBSEA”. In this context he has published more than 40 papers in technical journals and participated in more than 20 competitive R&D projects.
Dr. Enoc Martínez
Dr. Enoc Martínez received the M.S. and Ph.D degree in electronic engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) and he is currently researching at the Remote Acquisition Systems and Data processing (SARTI). He has been co-author of more than 50 publications at scientific journals and congresses and has been involved in more than 10 EU-funded and national research projects. His research interests include interoperability, sensor web standards, underwater noise measurements, underwater acquisition systems and data management.
Dr. David Sarriá
David Sarria is Ph.D. in electronic engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). Since 2005 is a member of the Remote Acquisition Systems and Data processing (SARTI) research group. Since then, his research activity focuses on low power instrumentation and acquisition systems for marine technology. His main line of research is the study and applicability of new methods for monitoring marine species, including optical, radiofrequency and acoustic technologies.
Javier Cadena Muñoz
In 1999, I completed my studies in Telecommunications Engineering and joined the founding team of the SARTI research group at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. I began my career with the group by undertaking industrial projects and collaborating with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) to develop an OBS. I soon started to combine this productive activity with the role of Purchasing and Equipment Manager, a responsibility I currently hold alongside Personnel Management.
Since the installation of the OBSEA underwater observatory, I have shifted my technical activities from hardware design, PCB creation, and microprocessor software development to more infrastructure management tasks. These include Server Management, and the creation and management of Virtual Machines (VMs), initially using VMware ESXi and currently combining VMware ESXi with Proxmox.
This role encompasses not only the creation and maintenance of VMs but also comprehensive management of Gateways, DNS, Firewalls, Proxies, backups, and more. These activities are integral to the overall operations of the research group, extending beyond Research and Development to the industrial domain as well.
In parallel with these activities, I also engage in specific tasks related to electrical and temperature-humidity calibration and/or verification, providing services to the industry under the ISO9001:2015 standards with traceable patterns to ENAC
Carola Artero
Carola Artero has a degree in Engineering in Industrial Electronics and Automatic Control from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). Since 2009, she has been a member of the research group Remote Acquisition and Data Processing Systems (SARTI). Her work focuses on developing technology and data acquisition systems to monitor marine ecosystems. She has contributed to designing underwater observatories like OBSEA and integrating various sensors.
Ikram Bghiel
Ikram Bghiel has a degree in Computer Engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). She has been part of the Remote Acquisition and Data Processing Systems (SARTI) research group since 2009. With over a decade of hands-on experience in the development of dynamic and robust web applications, database management and development of data acquisition and analysis systems tailored for the oceanographic field.