Greek researchers at the National Centre for Scientific Research Demokritos are developing an autonomous electric boat that will use artificial intelligence (AI) to navigate independently, identify marine pollutants and collect waste, as the research centre expands its computing infrastructure and prepares to launch Greece’s national AI factory, Pharos.
The INSANE research team at Demokritos designs the boat’s components, manufactures them using 3D printers, and assembles and tests each prototype in its laboratory. The project combines artificial intelligence, physics and engineering to develop a practical solution to marine pollution.
The laboratory operates from the new building of Demokritos’ Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications, which brings together scientific research, technological applications, advanced computing infrastructure and the offices of Pharos SA, Greece’s national AI factory.
AI and robotics target marine pollution
Artificial intelligence lies at the heart of the INSANE team’s research. Its vision is to establish a new approach to AI grounded in the laws of physics and engineering, supporting scientists and engineers across a wide range of tasks.
The researchers are applying AI to improve the boat’s materials, enable autonomous navigation and identify the pollutants it collects.
The idea emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, when researcher Christoforos Rekatsinas identified marine pollution as a problem that could benefit from an autonomous technological solution.
Since 2022, the INSANE team, which Rekatsinas founded with fellow researchers Giorgos Giannakopoulos and Panagiotis Krokidas, has developed, tested and refined several boat prototypes. Funding has come from the Science Agora Technology Transfer Hub’s Proof of Concept programme, as well as awards and distinctions the team has received.
“We are gradually moving beyond 3D printing for prototyping towards a functional product that can be put to practical use. It requires design, engineering knowledge and the effective use of technology,” Rekatsinas told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA).
The boat could serve purposes beyond cleaning waterways. It could also monitor water quality and inspect infrastructure.
The research team has already established collaborations with the Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company (EYDAP) and the Public Power Corporation (PPC). It is also exploring the possibility of manufacturing metal frames for microsatellites in collaboration with a microsatellite company.
Rekatsinas said the new building has given the team dedicated laboratory space where researchers and students can work together, interact and collaborate more closely.
A smart building that doubles as a living laboratory
Demokritos’ new Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications building does more than house research laboratories. It also serves as a testing ground for intelligent building technologies.
The facility operates as a living laboratory, collecting data on air quality and energy consumption while people use the building.
Giorgos Xylouris, a researcher at the institute and head of Demokritos’ Network Centre, said the building contains sensors that measure temperature, pressure, humidity and fresh-air flow. The facility also monitors electricity consumption.
These systems generate environmental and energy-use data that researchers can analyse to develop AI services and applications.
A new data centre on the ground floor, next to the INSANE laboratory, will serve all Demokritos institutes and companies operating within the Lefkippos Technology Park.
Twenty metal racks house the computing infrastructure, including servers, networking equipment, large-scale data storage systems and fibre-optic connections.
Xylouris said the data centre would support the entire lifecycle of AI applications, from collecting and processing data for machine learning to storing information and running applications.
The infrastructure will give researchers the computing resources they need to develop and operate their projects.
Connecting Demokritos to the Daidalos supercomputer
The new data centre will also host a node of the Greek National Research and Education Network (GRNET). This connection will link Demokritos’ data centre securely and at high speed with the Daidalos supercomputer in Lavrio, enabling researchers to transfer data for processing and other applications.
The connection forms part of a broader national effort to strengthen Greece’s AI capabilities by combining computing infrastructure with research expertise and practical support.
Pharos aims to make advanced AI accessible
The new building also houses the offices of Pharos SA, the commercial arm of the PHAROS project responsible for engaging with and supporting users of Greece’s national AI factory.
An academic consortium, technically coordinated by Demokritos, is working to organise the AI factory and harness the capabilities of the Daidalos supercomputer for universities, public-sector organisations and businesses.
Stelios Karozi, deputy technical coordinator of the PHAROS project and a Demokritos researcher, stressed that the AI factory is more than a supercomputer.
“The PHAROS AI Factory is not Daidalos alone, but Daidalos together with services and training. Daidalos is a machine. Access to the supercomputer will come through the PHAROS AI Factory,” he told AMNA.
He explained that the AI factory would help users access advanced computing infrastructure while providing the expertise and support they need to use it effectively.
This includes helping organisations identify their objectives, locate and unlock relevant datasets, use data appropriately and acquire the necessary skills to work with advanced computing resources.
The PHAROS project is establishing the foundations for the AI factory through large datasets, AI models and a team of specialists who will advise private companies, academics and public-sector organisations.
The project team is also developing a digital platform through which prospective users will be able to apply for PHAROS services and incorporate AI technology into their own operations.
Afroditi Sevasti, chief executive officer of Pharos SA, said the new Demokritos building provides an environment for daily inspiration and meaningful collaboration with leading scientists, researchers and engineers.
She described PHAROS as Greece’s national AI accelerator, bringing businesses, researchers and public institutions together with the country’s AI infrastructure.
By providing unified access to advanced computing resources such as Daidalos, reliable data, sophisticated AI tools, specialist expertise and support services, the initiative aims to reduce the cost and complexity of adopting AI.
Sevasti said the ultimate goal was to turn research and innovation into solutions with measurable economic and social benefits.
Demokritos launches a €48.3 million building programme
The new Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications building forms part of a wider €48.3 million construction and renovation programme at Demokritos, financed by the European Investment Bank.
The programme also covers new buildings for nanotechnology and microelectronics, chemical biology, and the expansion of the Lefkippos Technology Park. It also includes renovations to seven existing buildings at the research centre.
Demokritos director and board chairman Evangelos Karkaletsis said the centre expects to complete the programme by 2030.
“Demokritos is growing. We have significant needs, and this building programme is important because it will help us meet them,” he said.
Karkaletsis noted that Demokritos began as a nuclear research centre before evolving into a multidisciplinary research institution. He said collaboration across scientific disciplines would remain central to its future.
Artificial intelligence now supports research throughout the centre, extending beyond informatics and telecommunications to areas including microelectronics, nanotechnology, biotechnology, nuclear physics and particle physics.
The new building also includes dedicated spaces for cultural activities, sports, discussions and events. Institute deputy director Giorgos Paliouras said the design encourages interaction and collaboration by making it easier for researchers to meet informally and hold small or large gatherings.
The building also provides a quiet room for people who need a break from sensory stimulation and for mothers who need a private space to breastfeed.
Paliouras said the building’s layout encourages researchers to meet in corridors and shared spaces, exchange ideas and work together more effectively.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos and Deputy Development Minister Stavros Kalafatis will inaugurate the new building on Tuesday, 20 October. The inauguration of the Daidalos supercomputer in Lavrio is scheduled for Monday, 19 October.
The developments mark an important step in Greece’s efforts to strengthen its research infrastructure, expand the practical use of artificial intelligence and connect scientific innovation with the needs of businesses and public services.
(Source: Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA)
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