The Port of Valencia hosted the official demonstration of the European project Smaug (Smart Maritime and Underwater Guardian), an initiative aimed at improving port security through the early detection of underwater threats in ports and their access channels.
After months of technological development, the Valenciaport Foundation, in collaboration with the Port Authority of Valencia, organized validation tests in a real environment of the systems developed within the framework of the project.
In the demonstration, which involved the Customs Office of the State Tax Administration Agency, critical scenarios were recreated to test the effectiveness of solutions integrating artificial intelligence, advanced sensors (sonars and hydrophones), underwater robotics, and autonomous vehicles: USV (Unmanned Surface Vehicles); UUV (Unmanned Underwater Vehicles); and UAV (autonomous and tethered drones).
The purpose of this deployment is to strengthen surveillance and response to threats hidden beneath the sea surface or attached to ship hulls, such as explosives or illicit goods that compromise the safety of port operations.
The first scenario took place at the mouth of the Turia River, one mile from the coast, with the participation of a patrol boat from the Tax Agency. This exercise simulated the detection of a semi-submersible, a type of vessel currently used in illicit activities such as drug trafficking.
For this purpose, hydrophones were used, and acoustic detection was correlated with information from the AIS system (Automatic Identification System for maritime tracking and navigation). Subsequently, the pursuit of a suspicious vessel was simulated using a tethered drone, capable of providing prolonged and uninterrupted aerial surveillance with a tracking camera assisted by artificial intelligence.
The second scenario took place in the Port of Valencia itself, where fixed hydrophone systems were tested for detecting suspicious vessels at the port entrance. After the initial alert, sonar scans were performed on a ship’s hull to check for the possible presence of attached objects.
The information generated by all these systems was centralized in the command and control center designed within the framework of Smaug. This platform allows for data integration, alert management, and information processing through artificial intelligence, facilitating a unified view of threats and improving the response capability of the teams responsible for port security.
The test results have confirmed the usefulness of these technologies for reinforcing surveillance in port environments and covering a particularly complex domain: the underwater environment.
Thanks to the combination of sensors, autonomous vehicles, and intelligent data analysis, Smaug makes it possible to detect threats that conventional security systems cannot identify with the same effectiveness.
The technology developed in the project combines hydrophone networks for acoustic listening, high-resolution sonars for low-visibility areas, rapid scans, and cooperative action of autonomous robotics. This entire data ecosystem is processed using artificial intelligence to anticipate risks and contribute to the protection of port infrastructures, ships, and maritime operations.
