Joan Esteba
Postdoctoral Associate
Affiliation: NYU Abu Dhabi
Education: Bachelor Degree in Industrial Engineering, Master's in Industrail Engineering, and PhD Summa Cum Laude in Technology, University of Girona, Spain
Research Websites: Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR)
Research Areas: Marine robotics, underwter robotics, autonomous underwater vehicles, long-term deployment, docking station, autonomous underwater complex cleaning, intervention autonomous underwater vehicles
Joan Esteba obtained his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Industrial Engineering at Escola Politècnica Superior from Universitat de Girona, Spain. He was selected for his exceptional performance in a research and development company developing industrial robots for the automotive sector in Spain, where he worked for the principal automotive brands in R&D projects for the automatization of industrial processes. He combined his position as a Project Engineer with his Master's studies, and after finalizing his studies he obtained the position of Project Manager.
Esteba was selected for one of the top Underwater Robotics laboratories from the academic domain, the CIRS from the University of Girona, from where he obtained his PhD in Technology with the honor of being distinguished with the Summa Cum Laude. During his PhD, he led the Long-Term Deployment research line, from where two prototypes of docking stations were developed for extending the residence of the Autonomous Underwater Vehicles on the field. He combined his research responsibilities with the responsibility of leading the mechanical engineering team of the research center, with a focus on design and manufacture for Underwater Robotics.
Even before he obtained his PhD position, Esteba was selected as a Senior Underwater Robotics Mechanical Research Engineer by the Technology Innovation Institute, where he was part of the leading team in creating the Marine Research department, from where behalf of other responsibilities, he was part of the design of the Autonomous Underwater Vehicles from the center.
Nowadays he is part of the new Field Robotics Laboratory, which has a focus on Underwater Robotics, being a key member in the establishment of the new laboratory. Besides his responsibilities of establishing the new laboratory, his research is focused on Autonomous Underwater Complex Cleaning, where a novel Intervention Autonomous Underwater Vehicle is being developed.
Research Summary
The Autonomous Underwater Complex Cleaning Research line pretends to study and develop the different needs for obtaining an Intervention Autonomous Underwater Vehicle capable of performing underwater cleaning tasks, that for their level of complexity require the use of an underwater manipulator. The research line oversees a full application, which includes developments in mechatronics, perception, planning, and control; being ideal for a multi-disciplinary team.
This research line represents a novel concept in Underwater Robotics, anticipating the needs of the market for at least five years, from which several major companies in the sector showed their interest. Allowing nowadays to set the basis for what in the future will be a market need, giving the Field Robotics Laboratory a unique opportunity to make strategic developments (i.e., publications and patents).