Advances in Robot System Applications for Marine Monitoring

Dear Colleagues,

Global climate change, human impacts on ecosystems, oil spills, and eutrophication are factors that require continuous, high-quality, high-frequency, and low-cost monitoring for their effectiveness as support for science-based decision-making. Estimating the efficiency of corrective measures with which to restore ecosystems also requires significant monitoring efforts at various scales, achievable with the new technological advancements offered by marine robot systems.

Marine robotics represents an evolving field of research, with significant impacts on ocean exploration, environmental monitoring, and industrial applications. The growing importance of marine robotics emerges in ocean exploration, where autonomous airborne, surface, and underwater vehicles are utilized to collect scientific data, monitor biodiversity, and investigate marine resources. Recent developments in the design and deployment of aerial drones (UAS), autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs), autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) offer a broad spectrum of potentials that positively impact environmental sustainability and the understanding of marine ecosystems.

The integrated monitoring approach involves the synergistic use of marine platforms and remote sensors, enabling multidisciplinary data acquisition. The combination of these approaches provides a comprehensive view of marine environments, facilitating a deeper understanding of processes. Continued innovation in this field promises to revolutionize our understanding of the oceans and contribute significantly to environmental sustainability and industrial activities. This Special Issue will collect cutting-edge work illustrating these advances, along with successful case studies on ocean monitoring using marine robotic technology.

Dr. Javier Gilabert
Dr. Francesco Rende
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• marine robotics
• Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASVs)
• Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs)
• Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs)
• underwater drones
• ocean exploration
• marine environmental monitoring
• artificial intelligence in the underwater environment
• maritime environmental sustainability
• marine biodiversity
• advanced underwater technologies
• autonomous ocean missions
• innovations in underwater design
• underwater scientific research
• offshore industrial applications
• ocean conservation
• advanced underwater robotics
• underwater data acquisition
• aerial remote sensors (LIDAR bathymetry and multispectral cameras)
• Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)
• marine remote sensing
• underwater photogrammetry
• applications of marine remote sensing
• coastal remote sensing