Title: smaRt Online Multisensory systEm for microplastic quantificatiOn and water quality assessment
Start Date: 27/08/2025
Budget: 1.000.000,00
Duration: 36 months
Final Date: 25/08/2028
Partners:
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) (Italy) – Coordonator
- Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) (Brasil)
- Istanbul University (Istanbul U) (Turkey)
- Management Consortium of Porto Cesareo Marine Protected Area (PCPMPA) (Italy)
- SK EMBIO Diagnostics Ltd (EMBIO) (Cyprus)
Abstract:
ROMEO is a low-cost and open multi-sensory system that monitors and digitizes our aquatic ecosystems to understand their state, ecological health and functioning, with the concept of any sensor, anytime, anywhere. It is made of multisensory system that perceive and reason about underwater abiotic and biotic conditions of our critical natural resources by building a digital aquatic world that understands the considered ecosystem conditions and forecasts their evolutions.
The ROMEO multi-sensory system will address knowledge gaps for cross-aquatic basins information exchange. This proposal will establish an aquatic-basins database on several standard environmental parameters, and with novel and innovative online sensors for micro-plastics/diatoms, to act on policies of “Restore our Oceans and Waters” lighthouse initiatives. It will integrate and enrich the Copernicus service with a new monitoring scheme that includes new sensing technologies, allowing anyone to use data: scientists, policymakers, entrepreneurs and citizens. Further, it fully complies with the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, for preserving the marine environment, since it represents a sentinel of human activities with a sustainable use of multi-sensor carrier. All the acquired data will be ingested into an open database engine, which will provide a coherent, multivariable and multi-dimensional description of the aquatic environment, biodiversity and populations/resources dynamics, from inland and transitional to coastal water, from marine physics to ice to biogeochemistry, from the surface to deep water, allowing a digital exploration in time and space of the aquatic ecosystems accordingly.
The open database and platform will give all stakeholders the power to make informed decisions, backed by science and data, to monitor and implement the conservation strategies and restore the aquatic habitats, support a sustainable blue economy and mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Phase 1 – “Use case definition and sensors solution design” (01/01/2025 – 31/12/2025)
- Activity 1.1: Defining the scenarios and use cases (correlated with T1.1 of the international project)
Within this activity, the usage scenarios and implementation use case for the ROMEO project is defined, with a focus on the Black Sea basin as a representative pilot area for testing the system under complex conditions. The main stakeholder categories and their needs were identified, the relevant water quality parameters for monitoring were established, and the optimal technical solution for the sensor system was selected.
- Activity 1.2: Designing the data collection solution and defining the monitored parameters (correlated with T1.2 of the international project)
Within this activity, 100% of the tasks and objectives proposed for the year 2025 were completed.
The relevant environmental parameters for monitoring water quality were defined, and the data collection solution was designed using the Smart Water Extreme (SWX) platform from Libelium.
The selected solution integrates multiparameter sensors for measuring temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity, turbidity, and water level, ensuring comprehensive and continuous monitoring of aquatic conditions. Through the 4G/LoRaWAN communication modules and the MQTT protocol, data is transmitted in real time to the InfluxDB database, where it is stored and analyzed using the Grafana platform.
Dissemination
- Participation in nZEB & Tech Week 2025
BEIA participated in nZEB & Tech Week 2025, held between June 14–15 in Bucharest, Romania. The event served as a dynamic platform dedicated to innovation, sustainability, and technology in the built environment and beyond. During the event, BEIA had the opportunity to disseminate the D4SPAS project.
- Participation in the Launch Conference of the Project “University Leadership for Knowledge and Technology Transfer (Leadership TT)”
On July 9, 2025, organized by UEFISCDI and the Ministry of Education and Research, and held at Nod Makerspace, Bucharest. During this event, BEIA had the opportunity to disseminate the D4SPAS project.
- Participation in the Official Launch Event of the Project “Technology Transfer for Sustainable Economic Development – TETRAFEST”
On Thursday, July 10, 2025, BEIA Consult International took part in the official launch event of the project “Technology Transfer for Sustainable Economic Development – TETRAFEST” (Project Code: PN-IV-P7-7.4-FTT-2024-0031), held at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies of the Polytechnic University of Bucharest. During this event, BEIA had the opportunity to disseminate the D4SPAS project.
- Participation in CYBERSEA 2025 Conference
BEIA participated in this year’s CYBERSEA event, held between July 18–19, 2025 — an important platform focused on cybersecurity in the maritime and energy sectors. During the event, we had the opportunity to disseminate and promote the D4SPAS project.
- Participation in Advantage Austria’s Autumn Reception
On September 18, 2025, BEIA had the pleasure of attending the traditional Austrian Economy Autumn Reception in Romania, hosted by the Commercial Section of the Austrian Embassy in Bucharest. During the event, BEIA had the opportunity to disseminate the D4SPAS project.
- Participation in European Researchers’ Night 2025
On September 26, 2025, BEIA participated in the European Researchers’ Night, an event dedicated to bringing science closer to the public. During the event, BEIA showcased several of its innovative projects, including D4SPAS.
- Participation in EEN2EIC – Capacity Building Event
On October 13, 2025, BEIA took part in the EEN2EIC – Capacity Building event, organized by the Măgurele Science Park (MSP) at BT Stup (Calea Șerban Vodă 206, Bucharest). Through its participation, BEIA disseminated the D4SPAS project.
- Participation in TETRAFEST 2025 – Technology Transfer Festival
Held between October 9–11, 2025, in Bucharest, the event brought together industry leaders, innovation providers, and technology organizations, creating a dynamic platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange. It represented an excellent opportunity to disseminate the D4SPAS project.
- Participation in the Bucharest Cybersecurity Conference 2025 (BCC2025)
BEIA had the pleasure of participating in the Bucharest Cybersecurity Conference 2025 (BCC2025), held between October 6–9, 2025. The event, organized by the National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC) with the support of NCC-RO and ANSSI, brought together top experts, institutions, and innovators from across Europe to discuss the latest challenges and advancements in cybersecurity. During the event, the D4SPAS project was disseminated.
Phase 2 – Development of the Cloud Platform and Sensor System Integration (01/01/2026 – 31/12/2026)
Activity 2.1 – Development of the Cloud Platform (correlated with T3.1 of the international project)
Activity 2.2 – Integration of the Sensor System (correlated with T3.2 of the international project)
Phase 3 – Testing of the Communication Infrastructure, Digital Twin, and Integrated Solution (01/01/2027 – 31/12/2027)
Activity 3.1 – Testing the Communication Infrastructure (correlated with T3.3 of the international project)
Activity 3.2 – Market Analysis and Definition of the business model
Stage 4 – Market Analysis, Business Model Definition, Coordination, Communication, and Dissemination (01/01/2028 – 25/08/2028)
Activity 4.1 – Testing the Digital Twin and the Integrated Solution in Real Operating Conditions (correlated with T3.4 and T4.5 of the international project)
Activity 4.2 – Coordination, Communication, and Dissemination of Results (correlated with T1.5, T5.1, T5.2, T5.3, T5.4, and T6.2 of the international project)