This workshop brings together researchers, technology providers, and end users to explore how reliable localisation can unlock autonomous inspection and maintenance (I&M) in GNSS-denied environments such as ship interiors, offshore facilities, tunnels, and industrial plants. In these settings, navigation is not just a technical challenge, but a mission-critical enabler of safety, compliance, and repeatability.
The session will combine concise, field-based presentations with an interactive discussion to identify best practices and future priorities. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of the current technological readiness and integration pathways for visual, inertial, and semantic localisation methods in real operations.
The workshop will focus on three main questions:
- What are the latest advancements and future trends in GNSS-denied localisation?
- Can AI-driven approaches help traditional localisation methods address real-world deployment challenges while maintaining the robustness needed for operational environments?
- How do we achieve reliable, localisation for inspection and maintenance missions in indoor, offshore, underground, and urban canyon environments where GNSS is denied or degraded?
Please check the ERF programme for the exact time slot and room for the workshop.
Overall programme (80 minutes)
- (5 min) Welcome and short introduction by the organisers.
- (40 min) Four invited presentations (10 minutes each) highlighting recent advances and field experiences in GNSS-denied localisation and inspection.
- Topics include ship-interior mapping, offshore and confined-space localisation, multi-robot cooperation, and safety and acceptance aspects.
- (30 min) Open round-table discussion led by the organisers, engaging speakers and participants on future directions, cross-sector collaboration, and standardisation needs.
- (5 min) Wrap-up and summary of key takeaways.
The session encourages audience interaction throughout, with emphasis on exchanging concrete experiences and identifying actionable next steps for robust, real-world GNSS-denied navigation.
People actively involved (e.g. speakers, panelists, moderators)
- Magnus Bjerkeng, SINTEF Digital
- Øystein Skotheim, ScoutDI
- Uğur Dinçer, HKTM, Turkey
- Ahmed Mohammed, SINTEF, Norway
- Fausto Ferreira, University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing / Centre of Excellence MARBLE, Croatia
The list of speakers may be subject to change without notice.
Note that to participate in the workshop you need to be registered for the European Robotics Forum (ERF). To register for the ERF and check out the time and room for the workshop, please visit this site: https://erf2026.eu/
The workshop organizers are Magnus Bjerkeng, SINTEF, The preparations of the workshop has been supported by the euRobotics I&M topic group, the RIMA Alliance euRobotics Innovation Network, the ADRA topic group on I&M, SPRINT Robotics, the RINVE network, the Nemonoor EDIH, and the Naine network. The EU-projects called JARVIS (101135708) and Robots4Green also support the organization of the workshop.
