Pirania after its first successful mission. The underwater vehicle has proven its worth in action | Gdańsk University of Technology

Tuesday’s event in Sobieszewo marked the first public test of Pirania under conditions similar to those encountered in actual inspection operations. As planned, the system’s communications and readiness were first checked, followed by manually launching the vehicle from the slipway. Once submerged, the main part of the mission began, involving the search for objects, their imaging with a camera and sonar, identification, and finally a safe return to the launch point.

The first successful test under operational conditions

The event in Sobieszewo confirmed the operation of the system’s key functions, including communication, manoeuvring, imaging and reconnaissance survey in an aquatic environment. Pirania is being developed as a vehicle designed to monitor and inspect critical underwater infrastructure and detect seabed anomalies, using, among other things, a camera for low-light conditions, as well as sonar and navigation solutions.

“The successful first mission of Pirania confirms that the Gdańsk University of Technology is capable of turning its research expertise into specific solutions that address current challenges. This is a significant achievement for our university, and also an example of effective collaboration between science and industry on a project of great practical importance,” said Prof. Krzysztof Wilde, Rector of the Gdańsk University of Technology.

A response to security needs

Pirania has been developed in response to the growing need to protect critical infrastructure and monitor water bodies of security significance. This includes, among other things, external ports, maritime infrastructure and other facilities that require constant surveillance and the rapid identification of potential threats. The project is a dual-use one, meaning it has both civilian and specialist applications.

“The most important thing for the project team was that they managed to complete the entire planned mission scenario and confirm the operation of the vehicle’s key functions in practice. We are not talking about a simulation, but a real-life operation in which Pirania located and identified the designated targets, and then returned safely to the starting point,” said Tomasz Sauer, Head of the Subsea Technology Laboratory at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Ship Technology.

From academic expertise to a specific solution

The Gdańsk University of Technology’s expertise in underwater vehicles dates back to the 1980s, and the Pirania itself is being developed based on the experience gained from the construction of the Głuptak vehicle, which Gdańsk Tech has been supplying to the Polish Navy for many years. In this new project, this expertise has been developed for inspection and monitoring applications involving underwater infrastructure.

Gdańsk Tech’s Business Hub also played a significant role in bringing the project to its current stage. It was at the intersection of the Gdańsk University of Technology’s know-how, market demand and RADMOR’s experience that a solution emerged which, in a short time, was not only designed but also put through its paces.

“Pirania is an excellent example of how modern technology transfer should work. Here we have strong scientific expertise, a clearly defined market need and a partnership that allows us to move quickly from an idea to verifying the solution in practice. These are precisely the kinds of projects we want to develop and support,” said Paweł Lulewicz, Executive Director of Gdańsk Tech’s Business Hub.

“We develop solutions designed to safeguard Poland, its borders and the Baltic Sea. We use the latest technologies to more effectively diagnose, identify, recognise and detect threats hidden beneath the water, particularly in the vicinity of ports, anchorages and critical infrastructure,” said Bartłomiej Zając, President of the Management Board of RADMOR S.A.

A tailor-made product

Ultimately, Pirania will be developed as a modular solution, tailored to the requirements of specific customers. Depending on the nature of the tasks and the user’s expectations, the final version of the vehicle will be equipped with everything from sonar and vision systems to additional operational components, such as a manipulator arm or extra sensors. This model of cooperation allows us to deliver a product tailored to a specific customer’s needs, with the guarantee of local, readily available after-sales service, rather than just a single universal platform variant.