Researchers from the Regional Center of Excellence for Robotic Technologies (CRTA) and a visiting student successfully presented four scientific papers at the 35th International Robotics Conference RAAD 2026, held in Bratislava. The papers presented cover current research in the fields of medical robotics, autonomous driving and maritime autonomy, confirming CRTA's continuous contribution to the development of advanced robotic and autonomous systems.
In the field of medical robotics, two papers created as part of the PRONOBIS project were presented. Maha Touri presented the paper "Optimization of Robot Base Placement for Prostate Biopsy Planning", which deals with the optimization of robot base placement for prostate biopsy planning. Matija Markulin presented the paper "Visual Servoing Based Patient Movement Compensation for Prostate Biopsy Procedure", focused on the compensation of patient movement during the prostate biopsy procedure using methods of visual control of the robot.
In the field of autonomous driving, Luka Šiktar presented the paper "Autonomous Overtaking Trajectory Optimization Using Reinforcement Learning and Opponent Pose Estimation", which investigates the optimization of the overtaking trajectory of autonomous vehicles using reinforced learning and estimation of the position of other traffic participants.
Luka Šiktar's second paper, "MARINERO: Robot Digital Twin for Simulation of Autonomous Navigation in Nautical Marinas", presented a digital twin of a robotic system for simulating autonomous navigation in nautical marinas. The research was conducted in collaboration with the company Probotica d.o.o. as part of the MARINERO project being developed at Marina Punat.
Special success was achieved through international recognitions awarded to CRTA's works in the category of applications of robotic technologies. The work "Visual Servoing Based Patient Movement Compensation for Prostate Biopsy Procedure" won the Best Application Award, as the best work in the category of applications. The research is the result of cooperation between CRTA, the Faculty of Medicine, University of Zagreb and the company Ronna Medical, and the authors of the work are Matija Markulin, Luka Šiktar, Josip Jurdana, Luka Matijević, Tin Zekulić, Filip Šuligoj, Bruno Šekoranja, Tomislav Kuliš, Tomislav Hudolin and Marko Švaco.
Additional recognition was achieved by the work "MARINERO: Robot Digital Twin for Simulation of Autonomous Navigation in Nautical Marinas", which was declared a finalist in the application category. The authors of the work are Antonio Androšić, Luka Šiktar, Bruno Josip Ćaran, Marko Švaco and members of the Probotica d.o.o. team. Nikola Dragičević and Jakovljević. This recognition confirms the quality of research aimed at the development of autonomous systems for the maritime environment.
These awards further confirm the scientific excellence and innovation of CRTA researchers and the successful collaboration with partners from academia and industry. Special congratulations go to all researchers, physicians from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Zagreb, and the Probotica team who participated in these projects.
At the conference's closing ceremony, RAAD 2027 was officially unveiled; it is set to take place in Dubrovnik from June 2 to 4, 2027. Hosting one of the most important regional robotics conferences in Croatia further underscores the growing significance of the local scientific community on the international research stage.
Participation in the conference and the achieved results once again confirm CRTA's commitment to the development of innovative robotic technologies with applications in medicine, autonomous systems and the maritime sector.
The presented research was carried out within the framework of projects co-financed by the European Union through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO).
The project was co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund
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