Greece’s defense innovation agency and MIT Sea Grant have agreed to build a continuing partnership in marine robotics, extending cooperation that brought MIT-led training to Greek naval cadets and other participants earlier this year.
A joint declaration signed in Boston sets out plans for practical and online courses, instructor training and work on autonomous marine vehicles, the Greek Defense Ministry announced Oct. 22.
The agreement links the Hellenic Centre for Defence Innovation, known by its Greek acronym ELKAK, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sea Grant program. Defense Minister Nikos Dendias attended the signing at Greece’s consulate general in Boston.
According to the ministry’s announcement, the signatories were MIT Sea Grant Director Michael Triantafyllou and ELKAK Executive Director Markos Vasilikos.
The cooperation covers designing, building and testing different kinds of autonomous marine vehicles. It also provides for developing training facilities in Greece and exploring exchanges of technical and research staff.
Building on training at the Hellenic Naval Academy
The partnership follows a marine robotics program held at the Hellenic Naval Academy in June.
In a June 25 account, the ministry said participants included personnel from Greece’s armed forces and coast guard, the naval academy, the National Technical University of Athens and private organizations working in marine technology.
The course combined classroom instruction, laboratory testing and hands-on work with robotic vehicles.
During a June 25 visit, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Dendias watched unmanned surface vehicles in operation after a briefing by Triantafyllou and MIT research scientist Michael Benjamin. The ministry said the training addressed how marine robotic systems are designed, integrated and used in practice.
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