20.500.12556/DiRROS-25678 Development and field testing of a cavitation-based robotic platform for sustainable in-water hull cleaning Biofouling on ship hulls significantly increases hydrodynamic drag, fuel consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions, while also facilitating the spread of invasive species in regional and global waters, thereby threatening marine biodiversity. To address these environmental and economic issues, we developed an innovative robotic platform for in-water hull cleaning. The platform utilizes a cavitation-based cleaning module that removes biofouling while minimizing hull surface damage and preventing the spread of detached particles into the marine environment. This paper describes the design, operation, and testing of a developed robotic cleaning system prototype. Emphasis is placed on integrating components and sensors for continuous monitoring of key seawater parameters (temperature, salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a, etc.) before, during, and after underwater cleaning. Results from real-sea trials show the platform’s effectiveness in removing biofouling and its minimal environmental impact, confirming its potential as a sustainable solution for in-water hull cleaning. biofouling ship hulls in-water cleaning undewater robot sensor integration field testing mikroorganizmi ladijska obrast ladijski trup podvodno čiščenje podvodni robot terensko testiranje true false true MDPI Švica Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik © 2026 by the authors. Neznano 2026-01-27 09:23:10 2026-01-27 09:23:10 2026-01-28 04:15:04 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 Nasl. z nasl. zaslona; Soavtorji iz Slovenije: Andreja Abina, Edvin Salvi, Vlado Malačič, Janja Francé, Aleksander Zidanšek; Opis vira z dne 26. 1. 2026; str. 1-23 iss. 2, [article no.] 227 Vol. 14 Jan. 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 2025-12-22 2026-01-19 2026-01-21 007.52 2077-1312 10.3390/jmse14020227 266126595 https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/14/2/227 1 6c0f2d02-fb59-11f0-a15d-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=38966 RAZ_Puc_Uros_2026.pdf RAZ_Puc_Uros_2026.pdf 1 94D05D0A583BAFC813D3153874C83B2A e7ffdc7e21331d4cdbf0944fea4186c089e56c38be2a9e76318e0b774ed4a0ba cfaffa32-fb59-11f0-a15d-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=38968 Institut Jožef Stefan 0 0 0