This summer, a team of students from the Master in Intelligent Robotic Systems (MIRS) and the Erasmus Mundus master in Intelligent Field Robotic Systems (IFROS) represented their academic programs, the University of Girona (UdG), the partner universities of the IFRoS consortium (University of Zagreb and Eötvös Loránd University), and the research group VICOROB—specifically its Underwater Robotics Research Center (CIRS)—at the RAMI 2025 competition in La Spezia, Italy.

CIRS is a leading international research hub in underwater robotics, with extensive experience in perception, autonomous systems, and marine intervention. In fact, CIRS has participated and won previous editions of the RAMI competition, building a strong legacy that this year’s student team was proud to carry forward.

The mission? Represent the University of Girona with the newly created MiniGirona AUV, a fully autonomous underwater robot developed over several months of intense preparation. The competition brought together some of the most advanced university teams in Europe, each tasked with solving real-world problems of navigation, perception, and intervention below the surface. What followed was an unforgettable week filled with obstacles, breakthroughs, and extraordinary teamwork.

Unexpected restrictions met with determination

Just days before departure, the team received news that students from non-NATO countries would not be allowed access to the military base where the competition was held. What initially affected three team members soon became five. With only three students and two professors cleared to enter, the team faced a major setback. But rather than give up, they rapidly restructured the project into a hybrid workflow. They restructured the mission overnight, establishing a hybrid workflow between the on-site team and those supporting from the house where they were staying. Remote teammates handled software debugging, data analysis, and system monitoring. It wasn’t easy, but it was effective.

A 12-hour journey to a week of breakthroughs 

On June 27, the journey began. A van and car left Girona early in the morning, driven by Dr. Narcís Palomeras Rovira, Dr. Nuno Ricardo Estrela Gracias, and accompanied by PhD students Alaaeddine El Masri El Chaarani and Sebastián Realpe Rua. Packed with the MiniGirona robot and support equipment, they crossed southern France and the Italian coast, reaching La Spezia after a 12-hour drive.

By Sunday, the core team had set up their base at the competition site. Initial tasks included system setup and a critical step: trimming the robot to ensure neutral buoyancy, a requirement for stable underwater performance. On Wednesday, two more members joined in person: Dr. Pere Ridao Rodríguez and Dr. Roger Pi Roig, bringing added expertise and renewed support just in time for the first official scoring trials.

The first day of testing revealed a serious issue: a communication failure between the STM32 microcontroller and the onboard computer, which disabled the robot’s thruster controls. But the team adapted quickly, spending the night debugging and rewiring the system. By the next morning, MiniGirona was operational again—ready to face the competition.

Undeterred, the team regrouped offsite, collaborated late into the night, and rewired the system. By the next morning, MiniGirona was back online.

From that point forward, the team advanced rapidly. They collected datasets, calibrated sensors, and deployed advanced perception modules—depth estimation, point cloud generation, and symbol detection— with remarkable results. Setbacks continued: sonar failures, visibility issues, navigation complications. But every challenge was met with technical precision and unwavering persistence.

By Wednesday, the robot was able to navigate to an assigned waypoint as well as to cross a predefined gate autonomously. Thursday marked a breakthrough: the sonar was restored, and the team completed several underwater intervention tasks, including locating a damaged pipe, closing a valve, and retrieving an object from the seabed to the surface. Friday, the most demanding day, compressed multiple remaining tasks into one final push.

The result? A well-earned second place overall, just one point behind the winning team, an experienced group with several years of RAMI participation.

To top it off, MiniGirona received two special recognitions: Best Presentation and Best Poster

Behind the Robot: The MiniGirona Team

The MiniGirona project was driven by a team of students whose dedication, resilience, and technical excellence made the project stand out on an international stage.

The MiniGirona competition team consisted of: Adel Saidani, Bilal Ahmed, Deborah Danjuma, Mazen Ayman Elgabalawy, Taqi Hamoda and Thi Tran guided by two VICOROB PhD student: Alaaeddine El Masri El Chaarani and Sebastián Realpe Rua. The mission was further supported and made possible thanks to the guidance and presence of our academic team: Dr. Narcís Palomeras Rovira, Dr. Nuno Ricardo Estrela Gracias, Dr. Pere Ridao Rodríguez, Dr. Roger Pi Roig and Dr. Patryk Andrzej Cieślak and technical staff Lluís Magí. Their leadership and expertise were crucial in mentoring, logistics, and system integration.

Each of them played a key role in preparing, supervising, and empowering the team throughout the competition, whether onsite or remotely.

This participation was made possible thanks to the support of the University of Girona, which granted specific funding to enable the team's involvement in the competition. In particular, we would like to express our deep gratitude to: Patronat Politècnica UdG  and Consell social UdG for their longstanding support.

Why this matters

RAMI 2025 was more than a robotics challenge, it was a transformative learning experience. Faced with real limitations, unexpected obstacles, and high technical demands, the MiniGirona team rose to the occasion. Their success reflects not just technical skill, but leadership, adaptability, and true team spirit, qualities that define the next generation of roboticists.