The group’s activity is driven by real-world problems and extreme deployment scenarios, where analytical instrumentation must operate beyond conventional laboratory conditions.
Several projects originated from rapid-response field operations with ad-hoc deployable instruments and later became consolidated development activities within the group. Rather than isolated developments, these projects form a coherent trajectory centered on laser-based analytical instrumentation, autonomous operation and advanced data processing
Chemocopter – 6th-generation airborne laser-based platform for in-situ material analysis
Chemocopter was the first fully integrated airborne laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument worldwide, establishing a new class of deployable laser-based analytical systems for remote material analysis. The project laid the foundations of a consolidated body of technologies and know-how within the group, enabling the group to carry out rapid internal development of dedicated field instruments, without reliance on external technological frameworks. Through successive generations, Chemocopter established key capabilities in autonomy, robustness, signal stabilization, geo-referencing and time-stamped data acquisition, later reused and extended across multiple projects.
→ Ongoing development / multiple generations completed.
Volcanic monitoring – Rapid response at an active volcanic environment
Development and deployment of a dedicated analytical instrument during an active volcanic eruption, designed, integrated and deployed within a two-week timeframe. This project marked the first use of geo-referenced and time-stamped analytical data within the group and initiated a long-term collaboration with IGME-CSIC.
→ Completed.
REMINLASER – Airborne LIBS for the assessment of Critical Raw Materials
Joint project with IGME-CSIC focused on the development of remote and data-driven methodologies for the indirect quantification of CRMs in highly heterogeneous mining wastes. The project established a robust analytical framework combining optical instrumentation and advanced data analysis.
→ Completed (reporting phase).
Segovia Aqueduct – Tracing the monument’s quarries with LIBS
Ongoing project using laboratory-based laser spectroscopy on samples from quarries believed to have supplied stone for the aqueduct, producing hundreds of thousands of spectra and building a classification model to associate unknown granite to specific quarry sources. No in-situ measurements yet.
→ Ongoing.
BASEPROD: The Bardenas semi-desert planetary rover dataset
Deployment of laser-based instruments on terrestrial robotic platforms for scientific exploration under realistic outdoor conditions, with the first implementation of fully geo-referenced and time-stamped analytical measurements.
→ Completed.
AIROB – LIBS and machine vision for industrial monitoring and control
Technology transfer project developed under a CDTI contract, focused on the design and integration of an autonomous LIBS instrument into a robotic platform for industrial inspection, with independent instrument control and safety protocols.
→ Completed.
TRACE – Targeted assessment of Critical Raw Materials using advanced optical sensing
Research proposal focused on developing scalable methodologies for CRM assessment, combining LIBS with novel sensors and advanced data fusion strategies.
→ Proposal under evaluation.