Master’s degree1,500 h · Online · 11 modules
Master's in Drones for Naval Inspection
This master's prepares you to plan and carry out inspections of ships, offshore platforms, wind farms and other naval and port infrastructure with robotic marine drones. You will learn how ROVs and AUVs are designed and powered, how they navigate and position themselves underwater, which sonar, camera, laser and photogrammetry sensors capture inspection data, how they are controlled and made autonomous, and how to pilot them in offshore operations, maintain them and turn their data into precise inspection reports on structural condition.
Duration1,500 h
ModeOnline
Start1 December
Modules11
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About the program
What is the Master's in Drones for Naval Inspection?
This master's builds the complete skill set of a marine drone inspection specialist. You will start with the physics of the marine environment, hydrodynamics, stability, corrosion and the IMCA framework for ROV operations; then study pressure hulls, materials, sealing, syntactic foam, thrusters and manipulators; power systems, umbilicals, batteries and onboard electronics; underwater acoustics, USBL and LBL positioning, inertial navigation, DVL and acoustic communications; inspection sensors such as side scan, multibeam and synthetic aperture sonar, cameras, photogrammetry, 3D laser scanners and cable trackers; kinematics, dynamics and control; autonomy, SLAM and automatic target recognition; ROV piloting in offshore operations; and maintenance, fault diagnosis, IMCA audits, data management and the economics of robotic operations.
What sets this master's apart: it is oriented to inspection work, connecting vehicle engineering with what an inspection actually needs, from mission planning and sensor choice to piloting, anomaly assessment, structural integrity standards and inspection reports for hulls, offshore platforms, fixed and floating wind structures, pipelines and subsea cables; and it combines an integrating project, in which you design, develop and validate a robotic system or specialized payload for a real inspection or exploration problem, with a Final Project of your own choice.
Program typeMaster’s degree
ModeOnline
Duration1,500 hours
Modules11
Start1 December
Program highlights
- Marine environment and operating framework: hydrodynamics, stability, corrosion, IMCA guidelines and risk management.
- Vehicle engineering: pressure hulls, sealing, buoyancy, thrusters, manipulators, power, umbilicals and electronics.
- Underwater navigation and positioning: USBL, LBL, INS, DVL, sensor fusion and acoustic and optical communications.
- Inspection sensors: side scan, multibeam and SAS sonar, HD cameras, photogrammetry, 3D laser and cable trackers.
- Control, autonomy, SLAM and automatic target recognition, plus ROV piloting in offshore inspection operations.
- Maintenance, IMCA audits, inspection data management and reporting on structural integrity.
Syllabus
Syllabus of the Master's in Drones for Naval Inspection
11 modules. Select a module to see its content.
Module 1
Fundamentals of industrial drones and the marine operating environment
- 1.1. Introduction to underwater robotics: history, classification (ROVs, AUVs, gliders, HROVs) and state of the art
- 1.2. Physics of the marine environment: hydrostatic pressure, seawater density, salinity, temperature and their variation with depth
- 1.3. Underwater hydrodynamics: buoyancy, Archimedes' principle, drag and drag coefficients
- 1.4. Static and dynamic stability of underwater vehicles: center of gravity (CG) and center of buoyancy (CB)
- 1.5. Optical properties of water: light attenuation, scattering and absorption and their impact on underwater vision systems
- 1.6. Propagation of acoustic waves in water: speed of sound, sound velocity profile and acoustic refraction
- 1.7. Marine corrosion and material degradation: cathodic protection, sacrificial anodes and selection of alloys and polymers
- 1.8. International regulatory framework: IMCA (International Marine Contractors Association) guidelines for ROV operations
- 1.9. Safety and risk management in maritime operations with underwater robotics
- 1.10. Requirements analysis for the design of robotic missions in shallow, deep and ultra-deep waters
At this stage
136 hestimated workload11 wkweeks at your paceModule 2
Mechanical design, pressure hulls and propulsion systems
- 2.1. Design of pressure hulls and watertight housings: calculation of resistance to collapse
- 2.2. Selection of hull materials: marine aluminum, titanium, stainless steel and composites (carbon fiber, acrylics)
- 2.3. Dynamic and static sealing systems: O-rings, watertight penetrators and submersible underwater connectors
- 2.4. Syntactic foam: formulation, density, resistance to pressure degradation and distribution of buoyancy blocks
- 2.5. Frame configuration and structural layout of the vehicle to optimize payloads
- 2.6. Underwater thrusters: brushless electric propulsion versus hydraulic propulsion
- 2.7. Thruster layout and geometry: holonomic and vectored configurations and control in 6 degrees of freedom (6 DOF)
- 2.8. Thruster hydrodynamics: nozzle design, blade rows, cavitation and calculation of net thrust
- 2.9. Underwater robotic manipulators: 5- to 7-function hydraulic and electric arms and design of grippers and tools
- 2.10. Finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) applied to underwater vehicle structures
At this stage
136 hestimated workload11 wkweeks at your paceModule 3
Power systems, umbilicals and onboard control electronics
- 3.1. Architecture of the onboard electrical system: direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) power distribution
- 3.2. Power and fiber optic umbilical cable for ROVs: design, strength armoring, neutral buoyancy and data transmission
- 3.3. Surface power units (SPU) and high-to-low voltage transformation to minimize losses in long umbilicals
- 3.4. Batteries for AUVs: lithium-ion and lithium polymer chemistry, marine-grade secondary batteries and gas safety management
- 3.5. Microcontrollers, FPGAs and embedded computers for real-time vehicle management
- 3.6. Internal communication networks: CAN bus, underwater Ethernet, RS-485/RS-232 and serial network protocols
- 3.7. Internal monitoring sensors: detection of humidity, component temperature, internal pressure and current draw
- 3.8. Power electronics for motor control: variable frequency drives, PWM drivers and marine-grade inverters
- 3.9. Oil pressure compensation in non-watertight electronic housings and junction boxes
- 3.10. Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and noise filtering in high power density environments on board
At this stage
136 hestimated workload11 wkweeks at your paceModule 4
Underwater acoustics, navigation and positioning systems
- 4.1. Fundamentals of applied marine acoustics: frequencies, propagation losses and ambient ocean noise
- 4.2. Short baseline (SBL), ultra-short baseline (USBL) and long baseline (LBL) acoustic positioning systems
- 4.3. Inertial sensors (IMU/INS): fiber optic gyroscopes (FOG), MEMS and inertial integration algorithms
- 4.4. Doppler velocity log (DVL): operating principle and estimation of velocity over the seabed and through the water
- 4.5. Navigation integration through data fusion: extended Kalman filters (EKF) coupling INS, DVL, USBL and depth sensor
- 4.6. Hydrostatic pressure depth sensors and acoustic altimeters for altitude control above the seabed
- 4.7. Magnetic compasses, magnetometers and compensation of magnetic deviation caused by the metal frame
- 4.8. Underwater acoustic communication systems: acoustic modems, transfer rates, latency and underwater network protocols
- 4.9. Underwater LED/laser optical communications for high-speed short-range transfers
- 4.10. Sea calibration of acoustic and inertial positioning systems before robotic missions
At this stage
136 hestimated workload11 wkweeks at your paceModule 5
Inspection sensors, perception and underwater data processing
- 5.1. Side scan sonar (SSS): operating principles, swath geometry and interpretation of sonograms
- 5.2. Multibeam echo sounder (MBES): high-resolution bathymetry and processing of 3D point clouds
- 5.3. Synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) and sector scanning sonars for navigation and inspection
- 5.4. Sub-bottom profiler: acoustic stratigraphy and characterization of sediments below the seabed
- 5.5. High-definition and low-light underwater cameras and high-power LED lighting
- 5.6. Underwater photogrammetry: 3D reconstruction of submerged structures from image sequences
- 5.7. Underwater 3D laser scanners for precision metrological inspection of subsea components
- 5.8. Electromagnetic detection systems for locating buried cables and pipelines (pipe/cable trackers)
- 5.9. Integrated oceanographic sensors: CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth), turbidity meters and fluorometers
- 5.10. Strict time synchronization of sensors (PTP/NTP) and timestamping for perception data fusion
At this stage
136 hestimated workload11 wkweeks at your paceModule 6
Kinematics, dynamics and automatic control of underwater vehicles
- 6.1. Kinematics of underwater vehicles: reference frames (BODY, NED) and transformations with quaternions and Euler angles
- 6.2. Complete 6 DOF dynamic model based on Fossen's equations for marine vehicles
- 6.3. Calculation of added mass, linear and quadratic hydrodynamic damping and moments of inertia
- 6.4. Heading, depth, altitude and pitch control with adapted classic PID controllers
- 6.5. Multivariable and robust control: sliding mode control (SMC) and passivity-based control
- 6.6. Thrust allocation: allocation matrix, optimization and handling of thruster saturation
- 6.7. Dynamic positioning (DP) of ROVs and AUVs in variable currents
- 6.8. Path following algorithms and line-of-sight (LOS) guidance of vehicles
- 6.9. System identification: experimental methods to determine the vehicle's dynamic parameters through field tests
- 6.10. Force and compliance control of robotic manipulators mounted on floating vehicles
At this stage
136 hestimated workload11 wkweeks at your paceModule 7
Autonomy, mission planning and artificial intelligence for AUVs
- 7.1. Software architectures for robotic autonomy: reactive, deliberative and hierarchical architectures (ROS, ROS 2, MOOS-IvP)
- 7.2. Autonomous mission planning: generation of area coverage patterns for optimal mapping and patrolling
- 7.3. Autonomous navigation and real-time obstacle avoidance algorithms (A*, Dijkstra, RRT, DWA) using sonar
- 7.4. Underwater simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM): acoustic SLAM, visual SLAM and sonar SLAM
- 7.5. Underwater computer vision: color restoration, turbidity removal and backscatter filtering algorithms
- 7.6. Automatic target detection and recognition (ATD/ATR) with convolutional neural networks (CNN) on acoustic and optical images
- 7.7. Behavior-based control for dynamic decision-making in the event of failures
- 7.8. Collaboration between multiple underwater vehicles (swarm robotics, heterogeneous AUVs) and acoustic coordination
- 7.9. Smart energy management and mission adaptation according to battery state and environmental conditions
- 7.10. Software-in-the-loop (SITL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) simulation in virtual environments (Gazebo, UWSim, Stonefish)
At this stage
136 hestimated workload11 wkweeks at your paceModule 8
ROV piloting, offshore operations and subsea infrastructure
- 8.1. Operational classification of ROVs: micro/mini ROVs, observation/inspection class, light work class and work class
- 8.2. Components of an industrial ROV system: surface control console, launch and recovery system (LARS) and tether management system (TMS)
- 8.3. Manual and assisted piloting techniques for work class ROVs: tether handling, current management and orientation
- 8.4. Operation with robotic manipulators: use of hydraulic tools, cutters, cavitation cleaners and samplers
- 8.5. Inspection procedures for offshore platforms, fixed and floating wind structures and pipelines
- 8.6. Mapping and inspection of subsea fiber optic cables and high-voltage connectors in wind farms
- 8.7. Underwater construction support operations: guiding structures, connecting jumpers and operating valves (trees/manifolds)
- 8.8. Intervention in underwater archaeology, marine salvage and recovery of wrecks or flight recorders
- 8.9. Emergency practice: loss of power, tether entanglement, TMS failure and emergency recovery procedures
- 8.10. Preparation of inspection reports, anomaly assessment and underwater structural integrity standards
At this stage
136 hestimated workload11 wkweeks at your paceModule 9
Maintenance, fault diagnosis and fleet management of underwater robotics
- 9.1. Planning preventive, predictive and corrective maintenance for marine robotic systems
- 9.2. Fault diagnosis in high-voltage power systems and location of insulation faults in umbilicals
- 9.3. Leak tests, pressure tests in hyperbaric chambers and pre-dive vacuum tests
- 9.4. Maintenance and bleeding of subsea hydraulic systems: pumps, servo valves, accumulators and biodegradable fluids
- 9.5. Repair and splicing of underwater fiber optics and field sealing of cables with resins and molds
- 9.6. Spare parts management, offshore logistics and certification of lifting equipment (LARS) and pressure vessels
- 9.7. Integration and calibration of new sensor payloads on existing vehicles
- 9.8. ROV/AUV system audits using the standardized IMCA inspection questionnaires (R006)
- 9.9. Management of oceanographic and hydrographic data: storage, post-mission processing and standard formats (S-57, XTF, LAS)
- 9.10. Economics of robotic operations: day rates, operating costs (OPEX) and equipment amortization (CAPEX)
At this stage
136 hestimated workload11 wkweeks at your paceModule 10
Integrating project: design, development and validation of an underwater robotic system
- 10.1. Selection of an engineering problem or underwater exploration mission that requires an ROV/AUV solution
- 10.2. Analysis of the technical, operational, regulatory and economic feasibility of the proposed project
- 10.3. Conceptual and architectural design of the underwater vehicle or specialized payload
- 10.4. Detailed mechatronic modeling: structure, hull sizing, thruster selection and buoyancy distribution
- 10.5. Integration of the electronic architecture, power scheme, wiring, sensors and communication protocol
- 10.6. Development of the control, sensor processing or autonomy software modules
- 10.7. Validation through simulation in a realistic virtual environment (CFD/SITL) of the vehicle's hydrodynamics and behavior
- 10.8. Field tests or test tank/pool trials of the prototype or subsystem developed
- 10.9. Preparation of complete technical documentation: operating manual, mechanical drawings, electrical diagrams and safety protocols
- 10.10. Presentation and defense of the integrating project before a panel of experts in robotics, naval engineering and the offshore industry
At this stage
136 hestimated workload11 wkweeks at your paceModule 11
Final Project
- 11.1. Choice of topic and definition of the problem to be addressed
- 11.2. Formulation of objectives, hypotheses and scope of the work
- 11.3. Review of the state of the art and the specialist literature
- 11.4. Analysis of the applicable regulatory and technical framework
- 11.5. Design of the methodology and the work plan
- 11.6. Collection, processing and validation of data
- 11.7. Technical development and analysis of results
- 11.8. Discussion, conclusions and future lines of work
- 11.9. Writing of the final report in line with academic standards
- 11.10. Presentation and defense before the panel
At this stage
136 hestimated workload11 wkweeks at your pacePlan your pace
Duration and format of the Master's in Drones for Naval Inspection
It is 1,500 hours. Tell us how many you can study each week and we will tell you when you will really finish.
4 h30 h
With 12 h per week
29
months to finish
125 weeks
weeks in total
This is the pace at which most students finish. It fits well with the installment plan.
Faculty
Academic leadership and faculty
The Navalis teaching team: working professionals who teach and supervise the programs.
Dr. Marina AlcoverAcademic Director and Head of Quality Assurance
Eng. Diego CifuentesSenior Lecturer in Naval Welding and Non-Destructive Testing; Head of QA/QC for Welded Joints
Capt. Javier Abaroa (MCA)Senior Lecturer in Ship Handling, Electronic Navigation (ECDIS/Radar/ARPA) and GMDSS; STCW Compliance and Bridge Resource Management Coordinator
Dr. Pau FerrerSenior Lecturer in Naval Architecture and Simulation; Director of the Hydrodynamics and CFD Laboratory
Dr. Nuria LlobregatSenior Lecturer in Marine Meteorology, SAR and Operational Safety; Navigation Risk Management Coordinator
Eng. Javier BañulsSenior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, Automation and ETO Engineering; Electronic Integration and Engine Alarms Coordinator
Eng. Sofía MarquinaSenior Lecturer in Materials, Composites and Corrosion Protection; Coordinator of the Advanced Paints and Coatings Line
Eng. Tomás RieraSenior Lecturer in Propulsion, Alternative Energy and Hybrid Systems; Energy Performance and Vibration CoordinatorObjectives
Objectives of the Master's in Drones for Naval Inspection
01Manage the collection and analysis of inspection data efficiently, applying standardized quality control protocols and specialist software for the validation, cleaning and secure storage of information.
02Master drone inspection techniques in naval environments, planning inspection missions that take environmental and operational factors into account and comply with maritime and safety regulations.
03Implement predictive maintenance strategies for vessels and structures using data captured by drones, identifying failure patterns in critical components with machine learning and optimizing inspection routes.
04Develop innovative solutions for monitoring and assessing naval infrastructure, integrating advanced sensors, IoT and predictive data analysis to detect anomalies and optimize preventive maintenance.
05Design and operate drone systems adapted to the specific challenges of the marine environment, such as salt corrosion, waves, currents and limited endurance in offshore operations.
06Comply with the regulations that apply to marine drone operations, documenting each operation according to the requirements of the competent authorities and internal company protocols.
Careers
Career opportunities after the Master's in Drones for Naval Inspection
Frequently asked questions
Questions about the Master's in Drones for Naval Inspection
The syllabus is built around robotic marine drones, mainly remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and their use to inspect hulls, offshore platforms, wind structures, pipelines and subsea cables.
Both, with an inspection orientation: you study how vehicles are designed, powered, positioned and controlled, and how to plan inspection missions, pilot vehicles, process sensor data and report on structural condition.
Side scan, multibeam and synthetic aperture sonar, sub-bottom profilers, HD and low-light cameras, photogrammetry, 3D laser scanners, cable and pipe trackers and oceanographic sensors, together with acoustic positioning and inertial navigation.
No. Navalis Institute teaches the technical and operational content, including ROV piloting techniques and IMCA guidance; industry grading and certification of ROV pilots is handled by employers and sector schemes under their own requirements.
It is not essential. A background in engineering, marine sciences or maritime operations is recommended, and basic knowledge of electronics, mechanics or programming will help you progress faster.
Through practical exercises, case studies and short tests in each module, an integrating project in which you design and validate a robotic system or payload for a real inspection problem, and a Final Project presented before a panel.
A master's degree issued by Navalis Institute as its own qualification, together with the mission plans, designs and inspection reports you produce during the program.
Online and adapted to working professionals, with live classes, access to recordings and personalized tutoring.
Related programs
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Online admission
Admission process
No waiting for a call back. If your documents are in order, you can enroll in the same session.
Entry requirements
- Profile: aimed at naval, marine and aeronautical engineers, maritime and classification society inspectors, professional drone operators, maritime service and energy companies and STEM graduates who want to specialize in drone-based naval inspection; a degree in engineering (aeronautical, naval, mechatronic or similar), marine sciences or a related field, or demonstrable experience in naval inspection or maritime operations, is recommended, and basic knowledge of navigation, electronics, mechanics or programming is helpful.
- Language: sufficient command of English to follow the classes and the technical documentation.
- Technical resources: a computer with a stable internet connection, an up-to-date web browser and a PDF viewer; access to simulation software is helpful.
- Admission: online application, review of your profile and a short interview with the academic team.
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