• January 9 2025. A new European project with distinguished participation from IMI members begun on January 1, 2025. The project, titled HURRICANE: Holistic UGV-based Resilient and Real-time Intelligence for Crisis and Natural Emergency, has a duration of four years and is funded by the European Research Executive Agency. The lead researcher for the project at the Complutense University is IMI member Begoña Vitoriano.  The HURRICANE project aims to enhance disaster management and first responder (FR) safety through advanced robotics. It focuses on integrating UGVs and UAVs with real-time situational awareness, 5G-enabled communication, and data-driven optimization. Solutions will be tested in peri-urban, mountainous, and wildfire-prone areas, demonstrating improved efficiency (60% operation time reduction) and reduced FR risk. By 2028, HURRICANE aims to train 100 FRs across 15 EU countries, scaling to 10,000 by 2035, while strengthening the EU robotics industry.

Begoña Vitoriano Villanueva