I. Team Introduction

The "Xinghai" academic team of unmanned maritime vehicles technology (Marine Carrier Technology Research Institute) originated from the 103 teaching and research office of the Naval Engineering Department of "Ha Jun Gong", inheriting the research work on intelligent underwater robots initiated by Professor Deng Sanrui, known as the "Father of Chinese Submarines," and the relentless efforts and achievements of several generations of researchers including Professor Xu Yuru, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Under the continuous promotion of the team, the "National Key Laboratory of Underwater Robot Technology" was established at Harbin Engineering University in 2002, which is the only national key laboratory in China with marine robot technology as its core direction. The laboratory relies on the national "Double First-Class" discipline and A+ discipline construction in the field of "ship and ocean engineering," with main research directions including advanced unmanned platform technology, intelligent control technology, marine environmental perception, and swarm intelligence technology. In 2019, the team promoted the establishment of the world's first undergraduate program in "Marine Robotics."

The team currently has 23 fixed staff members (including 22 senior and associate professors), more than 40 full-time researchers, and nearly 200 postdoctoral fellows/graduate students. It possesses fixed assets worth nearly 200 million yuan, including office space, deepwater comprehensive experimental pools, horizontal circulating water tanks, and approximately 1,300 sets of specialized instruments and equipment.

Since the "13th Five-Year Plan," the team has undertaken nearly 100 vertical research projects funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Natural Science Foundation, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Science and Technology Commission of the Central Military Commission, and the Equipment Development Department, with a total contract fund of approximately 380 million yuan. The team led the development of the first fully deep-sea Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), achieving a new world record of diving to a depth of 10,896 meters. It has pioneered frontier innovative technologies, such as polar AUVs, multi-habitat autonomous vehicles, cross-domain submersible drones, multi-source ocean energy-driven vehicles, long-endurance underwater terrain matching, and fully autonomous game of unmanned surface vehicle (USV) clusters. In the research directions of underwater robots/surface robots (USV) equipment, full deep-sea/polar AUV, multi-habitat/new-concept UMV, and intelligent unmanned surface vehicle clusters, the team is at the forefront domestically or internationally. The research achievements have won one national science and technology award and more than 20 provincial and ministerial-level awards, making it the largest high-level talent training base and source of scientific and technological innovation in the field of marine robotics in China.

II. Research Achievements

In the past five years, the laboratory has undertaken more than 30 major research projects, such as the National Key R&D Program. It has successively led the development of fully deep-sea AUVs, polar unmanned submersibles, high-speed unmanned boats, marine energy-driven robots, marine robot swarm systems, underwater fishing robots, and other marine equipment, continuously fulfilling the mission of "serving ships, oceans, and national defense," and contributing to the development of a maritime power.

III. Team Culture

With a history of seventy years, the team has a profound heritage of innovation, forming the "Wisdom Water Spirit" characterized by "open source and talent gathering, unity and wisdom convergence, learning and application for the ultimate good, and integration and innovation." It has established a set of "value criteria" with the primary mission being national needs, leading innovation as the primary standard, and standing tall as the primary goal. The team focuses on "national affairs" and shoulders the "national responsibility," continuously fulfilling the mission of "accelerating the construction of a maritime power."

By establishing a sound mechanism for talent training and selection, creating a good and competitive environment, continuously attracting talent resources, and enhancing team cohesion; by sharing information resources, allowing team members to have more contact with innovative technological teams while improving their own qualities, adapting to changes in the external environment, and promoting the rapid growth of outstanding young talents; by streamlining communication channels, aligning team members towards common goals and ideals, and better stimulating and unleashing the collaborative potential of the team.