Eureka Xecs · Call 4

Marisends

Maritime operational ecosystem initiative supporting offshore operational coordination, telemetry visibility, and situational awareness across maritime environments.
  • 36-month consortium (2026–2028)
  • 20 partners · 5 countries
  • €13.1M total investment
  • Targeting the €14.4B global offshore maintenance market
  • Inverness & Cromarty Firth Green Freeport host

Programme context

Maritime programmes require resilient telemetry paths, offshore coordination workflows, and operational governance aligned to aviation-grade oversight.

See the operational programmes hub and real-time telemetry for supporting platform themes.

MariSens Overview

  • Mission: To automate and enhance the inspection and predictive maintenance of vital maritime infrastructure using various methods of autonomous sensing and artificial intelligence.
  • Scope: A 36-month initiative (2026–2028) with a global consortium of 20 partners across 5 countries.
  • Total Investment: €13.1 million, aiming to transform the €14.4 billion global offshore maintenance market.
Xecs — Eureka Cluster for Electronic Components & Systems

Outcomes

Why do we want to automate and enhance inspection and predictive maintenance?

  • Optimise asset longevity
  • Improve safety
  • Operational efficiency
  • Gain fast insights into these changing environments

Use cases

Delivering value to the ICF Freeport

The project’s priority is to deliver value to local organisations and businesses within the ICF Freeport through clear, technology-enabled use cases.

MariSens use-case diagram covering portside inspection, marine movement tracking, wave height monitoring and underwater sensing, connected by an enterprise 5G network

Technical Goals

  • Enable automated navigation and mission control for integrated drones across ports and maritime environments (1 → 10 → 20km).
  • Develop an unmanned boat platform for underwater and UAV drones.
  • Integrate advanced sensor types (underwater LiDAR, hydrophone array, underwater electromagnetic communications) in inspection.
  • Design AI models for automated detection and classification of defects, objects and events.
  • Create noise profiles for different work types and vessel engines.
  • Shipping inspection + emissions sensing.

Wider Benefits

Industrial impact

  • Interoperable platform with tools for various types of maritime inspection.
  • Easier entrance to inspection market for small innovative companies.

Economic impact

  • Reduced labour and equipment costs.
  • Higher defect detection rate — fewer incidents with critical infrastructure.

Societal impact

  • Community wealth building.
  • Less delays for citizens during non-intrusive inspections.
  • Reduction of underwater noise for sea-life.

Partners

The Companies Involved

MariSens brings together technology, infrastructure, regional and academic partners across five countries.

Dronecloud

Dronecloud (Lead)

Dronecloud is a leading enterprise drone management platform that integrates flight planning, safety compliance, and fleet logistics into a single, streamlined digital workflow.

Platform overview
Evolve Dynamics

Evolve Dynamics Limited

Evolve Dynamics is a specialised UK manufacturer of rugged, long-endurance UAV systems designed for mission-critical applications in defence, public safety, and industrial inspection.

CSignum

CSignum

CSignum is a pioneer in subsea wireless communications, providing innovative solutions for cable-free data transmission and digital transformation within the ocean and water industries.

The Scotland 5G Centre

Scotland 5G Centre

The Scotland 5G Centre serves as the national hub for accelerating 5G adoption, connecting industry and academia to drive digital innovation and economic growth across Scotland.

Inverness & Cromarty Firth Green Freeport

Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport Limited

This strategic economic zone acts as a global hub for green energy, focusing on large-scale decarbonisation, offshore wind innovation, and the development of a sustainable hydrogen economy.

Lyons Consulting

Lyons Consulting

A specialist consultancy bridging the gap between technology companies, concepts and solutions for end users in non-tech-focused industries.

Birmingham City University (BCU)

Birmingham City University (BCU)

Birmingham City University is a major, practice-led institution dedicated to providing industry-relevant education and fostering professional excellence in the heart of the West Midlands.

Nottingham Trent University (NTU)

Nottingham Trent University (NTU)

Nottingham Trent University is a world-class academic institution recognised for its excellence in pioneering research, and its strong commitment to student employability and sustainability.

Discuss programme alignment

Speak with Dronecloud about maritime operational ecosystems and telemetry oversight.