About

About LSTS

The Laboratório de Sistemas e Tecnologia Subaquática (LSTS) is an interdisciplinary research laboratory established in 1997 with researchers drawn from Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and from Computer Science.

The LSTS is specialized in the design, construction, and operation of unmanned underwater, surface and air vehicles and on the development of tools and technologies for the deployment of networked vehicle systems.

In the last 20 years researchers from the LSTS have successfully fielded unmanned air, ground, surface and underwater vehicles in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and also in the Mediterranean sea. These vehicle systems implement the LSTS control architecture with the help of the LSTS Neptus-IMC-Dune software toolchain. Neptus is a distributed command, control, communications and intelligence framework for operations with networked vehicles, systems, and human operators. IMC is a communications protocol that defines a common control message set understood by all types of LSTS nodes. DUNE is the system for vehicle on-board software. It is used to write generic embedded software at the heart of the vehicle, e.g. code for control, navigation, or to access sensors and actuators. It provides an operating-system and architecture independent C++ programming environment for writing efficient real-time reactive tasks in modular fashion. The toolchain has support for Disruptive Tolerant Network (DTN) protocols.

2021

Operational Experience
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REP(MUS)21
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REP(MUS)21
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REP(MUS)21
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REP(MUS)21
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REP(MUS)21

2020

Collaborations

Promotes collaboration between Air Centre and FEUP. Ocean observation area.

2019

Operational Experience

Edition held under the NATO’s Maritime Unmanned Systems Initiative

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REP(MUS)19
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REP(MUS)19
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REP(MUS)19
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REP(MUS)19
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REP(MUS)19
Collaborations

Renewal of the collaboration between Marinha Portuguesa and FEUP

2018

Operational Experience

Subtropical Front - Pacific Ocean, on board R/V Falkor from the Schmidt Ocean Institute

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SOI
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SOI
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SOISOI
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SOI
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SOI
Collaborations

Between Naval Undersea Warfare Center and FEUP, in the Maritime Cross Domain Communications area.

2016

Collaborations

Promotes collaboration between NASA-Ames and University of Porto. Oceans and earth observation areas.

2015

Research and Development

Development of a decision support system for harbor protection.

Research and Development

autoNomous, self-Learning, OPTImal and compLete Underwater Systems

Research and Development

Demonstration, evaluation and dissemination of new robotic systems, sensors and networking technologies in maritime incidents endangering human life, the environment and economic activities.

Operational Experience
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REP15
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REP15
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REP15
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REP15
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REP15
Collaborations

Promotes collaboration between and University of Porto. Oceans and technologies areas

2013

CANON
Operational Experience

CANON experiment , Pacific Ocean, organized by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), 2013. LSTS participated in this exercise with one LAUV AUV and technology for coordination with the Dorado AUV, the TEX Wave Glider and ships from MBARI for oceanographic data collection.

Operational Experience

Adriatic Sea. Demonstration of Unmanned Air Vehicle systems for maritime applications.

Operational Experience

Rapid Environmental Assessment (REP13) exercise organized in cooperation with the Portuguese Navy, Portugal, 2013

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REP13
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REP13
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REP13
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REP13
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REP13
Collaborations

Conducting aerial operations and joint advanced studies

Collaborations

Collaboration in the field of unmanned vehicle networks for marine applications and the exchange of students

2012

Participation in militar exercices
Operational Experience

Maiorca, Spanish Minex 2011

Alicante, Deep Divex 2011

Contex, Phibex 2011

2011

Research and Development

Design and evaluate controllers for Underwater vehicles, Aerial vehicles, Control of road traffic at the network level, Automated off-road guided vehicles and Control of distributed complex machines and to formulate control theory for the coordination of distributed systems.

2010

Participation in Militar Exercises
Operational Experience

Spanish Minex 2010

HalifaxContex Phibex 2010

Operational Experience

First edition of REP exercise

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REP10
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REP10
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REP10
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REP10
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REP10

2008

Collaborations

Foundation of OceanScan - MST, LSTS spin-off.

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OMST logo
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LAUV OMST
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LAUV OMST
Rendezvous ISURUS-REMUS, Monterey
Operational Experience

2006

BES Innovation National Award
Award

In 2006 the LSTS received the national BES Innovation National Award for the design of the Light AUV.

Swordfish
Operational Experience

Swordfish exercise with the Portuguese Navy.

2005

Employment of unmanned vehicles in Naval Operations
Collaborations

Simposyum “Employment of unmanned vehicles in Naval Operations” promoted by the Portuguese Navy.

2004

KOS
Research and Development

Subsea Operations Kit

2002

PISCIS
Research and Development

Prototype of an Integrated System for Coastal Ocean Intensive Sampling

2001

MICA
Research and Development

Hierarchical Control of Semi-autonomous Teams under Uncertainty, DARPA

1999

Underwater Infrastructure Inspection System
Research and Development

with ANI

1998

CASSETTE
Research and Development

Development and demonstration of control and system evaluation techniques for the Mobile Offshore Base (CASSETTE), ONR

1996

REMUS AUV
Research and Development

LSTS aquires its first AUV