Seabed Mapping and Inspection 2026

Nils Haktor is an Naval architect with a master from NTNU Trondheim in Marine Cybernetics. Head of section for new maritime technology, including autnomous vessels and new fuels.

Matilde graduated with a master's degree in physical geography from the University of Bergen, and has worked in the Norwegian Mapping Authority's marine division since 2012.

During her time at the Norwegian Mapping Authority, she has worked with both geodata and GIS, production of nautical charts, digitization and standardization - especially with the port data standard, agreements and sharing of geodata, management and availability of depth data.

Today, Matilde work as a subject manager for the national depth data manager, ensuring society has the best possible overview of and access to all depth data in Norwegian sea and ocean areas.

Many of the key qualifications are as I mentioned above, but they include: professional competence in geodata, GIS, depth data, management, nautical charts, standardization, access and availability of depth data.

Aleksander has been with Aker BP since 2021, working in the Subsea Execution & Survey department supporting projects, rig moves, pipeline inspection campaigns etc. Prior to that he worked for Norkyst and Polarcus (now PXGEO).

He is now one of the last lines of defense when it comes to QA/QC of survey and geospatial data and he is always curious about new ways of working and handling big amounts of data.

Aleksander joined Norwegian Forum for Offshore Survey and Positioning (NOSP) as a board member in September 2025.

Education: Certificate of Apprenticeship, Automation Master of Technology, Cybernetics and Robotics

Scanmudring: Lead on developing control system and survey setup of the controlled flow excevator (CFE) product range Lead on developing control system and electical systems on various tooling such as Scanmudring Coating Removal Tool, four different Soil Plug Removal Tools

Erik has a background as electronics engineer. He has been working since 1990 for Simrad Subsea/Kongsberg Discovery and have 20 years+ experience as field service engineer. He has also had assignments in Brazil and Singapore.

Eric Peeters received his Bachelor’s degree in Hydrographic Surveying in 1998. He has been working as a surveyor for Van Oord for over 14 years on projects abroad such as Dubai World Island in the UAE and the Ras Laffan Port expansion project in Qatar where he gained experience with the construction of hard sea defences.

From February 2009 he led the survey team for the rock installation on the hard seawall at Maasvlakte 2. He has also been involved in developing innovative survey techniques and the research to determine rock quantities with various survey methods.

During the past 9 years he has been working as survey operations manager supporting the Subsea Rock Installation department and was involved with the optimization of survey processes onboard Van Oord’s 3 Flexible Fallpipe vessels and building strong international survey teams on- and offshore.

Dr. Eric Guerrero Font is a marine robotics and machine-learning researcher focused on autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for seafloor (benthic) exploration. He earned a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering and an M.Sc. in Robotics and Automatic Control from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (BarcelonaTech). He completed his Ph.D. at the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) in 2023, developing data-driven exploration methods that integrate semantic perception with adaptive navigation for underwater missions.

He is currently an AI researcher at Ocean Infinity and an Associate Lecturer at UIB. His work focuses on underwater navigation and sonar-based perception, spanning adaptive exploration, robust localization, and scalable machine-learning pipelines that convert large volumes of acoustic data into actionable mapping and ocean-environment insights.

Rolf did his master degree in INS systems in 2008, and have since been involved in developing and building gyrocompasses and INS solutions.

Having worked as an engineer, team manager and now within product management gives him a strong understanding of the technical capabilities and how this can be utilized to solve customer pain points.

Dr. Murat V. Ardelan is a professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). He studies the impact of climate change on marine biogeochemical cycles of essential elements, toxic metals, and organic carbon in Antarctic, Arctic and various oceanic and coastal waters.

His research has also focused on the potential impact of CO2 Capture and Storage, aquaculture, and Deep-Sea Mining activities on the biogeochemistry of marine systems. Currently, he is coordinating a large EU Horizon project, DiverSea, which aims to develop monitoring and mapping methods and technologies for biodiversity and its drivers of decline in the coastal waters of Europe and Africa. He is also working on the development of autonomous sampling to detect the biogeochemical signature at the water column and sediment surface

With 21 years of experience in subsea robotics, Antonio Felipe is Product Manager for Autonomy at EIVA, where he leads the company’s autonomy strategy and drives the development of next-generation perception and mission autonomy software.

Since joining EIVA in 2018, he has focused on business development and strategic partnerships to position the company as a key player in subsea autonomy across ROV, AUV and UID systems. Combining deep technical and operational expertise with strong product and business acumen – supported by qualifications in Automation & Control, Business Administration and an MBA in Innovation & Business Management – Antonio brings a holistic, organisation-wide perspective as EIVA advances autonomous subsea operations.

Pedro Costa is the Head of AI at Ocean Infinity, where he leads the development and deployment of advanced artificial intelligence solutions to automate maritime operations; from survey planning and data acquisition to processing and client reporting. Pedro’s vision for the department centers on leveraging AI to drive efficiency and innovation across the entire maritime workflow.

Previously, Pedro was a PhD student at the University of Porto, focusing on medical computer vision research. His work explored how models can learn effectively from fewer annotations and achieve greater generalization by integrating domain knowledge into model architectures and training procedures. Pedro’s expertise spans AI strategy, machine learning, and the practical application of computer vision in complex, real-world environments.

Jason served 20 years in United States Navy as an Ocean Engineer and Deep Sea Diver

Licensed Professional Engineer an a Master's Degree in Ocean Engineering

Jason has led 14 at sea expeditions supporting ocean exploration

Archaeologist working with landscape change, stratigraphy, shallow water formation processes, paleolandscape, archaeological survey and to some extent geophysical survey.

Dr. Jake Russell is co-founder and CEO of Orpheus Ocean, a US-based startup company developing autonomous systems for deep ocean and seafloor exploration.

Before founding Orpheus, he was an operating partner with Propeller, a venture firm supporting early stage ocean tech companies. Russel served as a Fellow at ARPA-E (US Depart of Energy) for two years, specializing in ocean tech, and previously completed a PhD in chemistry at Columbia University.

Audun has a long experience from various senior managment roles within survey and subsea services, primarly as contractor but also as end Client.
Experience includes technology, operational and commercial roles.
Always with focus on improving efficiency and quality by introducing new technology aligned with Clients expectations and requirements.

After graduating with a Masters Degree in Oceanography from the University of Southampton, Florent went on to work as an Oceanographer, maintaining MetOcean survey equipment around the UK.

He then went on to become a Hydrographic Surveyor in the Netherlands and later became a Project Surveyor, leveraging his knowledge and field experience to help drive innovation and projects forward.

A long-time lover of maps, charts and coordinates Matt has been helping Aker BP for 5.5 years (on a consultancy basis) scope out, acquire, manage and use high quality geospatial information & services above and below the sea surface.

Matt graduated from Newcastle University in Surveying & Mapping Science in 1998, and in 2019 became a member of the Geomatics division of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

He’s a mediocre snowboarder!

Inge is educated at University-level background in Engineering and Economics.

35 years of offshore industry experience (Onshore & Offshore). Technical Management: Senior Engineer, Project Manager, and Technical Manager. Field Operations: ROV Pilot, Supervisor, Shift Supervisor, Project Engineer, Offshore Manager and Client Rep.

Daniel W. Schmid, PhD, is the CEO of Bergverk AS and brings a strong background in computational geoscience to marine technology innovation.

His academic and professional experience centers on advanced numerical modeling, including the development of tools like the MILAMIN solver, and research in structural geology and geophysics. This expertise now directly drives the development of cutting-edge applications, such as the DeepSee object detection model, accelerating high-resolution environmental and geological mapping for critical seabed operations.

John Bethea is the Geosciences Project Manager for the Eastern Hemisphere at Oceaneering International Inc. (OII), based in Aberdeen, Scotland.

He holds a BSc in Geosciences from Mississippi State University and an MSc in Applied Physical Oceanography from Bangor University. John has extensive experience in marine construction and survey projects, with a career focus on autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) data acquisition. John has contributed to several high-profile projects, including the MH370 marine search, the Jack/St. Malo pipeline installation, and the Lucius deepwater infield development, which he supported from start to finish. Currently, John is focused on exploring applications and opportunities for Oceaneering’s Freedom AUV, advancing subsea survey and inspection capabilities.

Erik Høy is established within Norway's marine technology and aquaculture sectors, known for his leadership and data collection R&D focus, including the experience of CEO of Thelma Biotel AS, Research Director at NINA, Researcher and project manager at SINTEF Ocean and project manager at NTNU.

Currently Erik is representing Fugro Seawatch in the role of business development manager, oriented towards maritime safety and security and public procurement.

Erik is an eager advocate for development and innovation through his research cooperation with SINTEF and the NTNU as well as internationally. His interests are on the use of sensor technology for data collection and development of sustainable maritime solutions.