Michael Sacarny

MIT Sea Grant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Michael Sacarny is a leading researcher in marine autonomy, specializing in perception systems for autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs). His work focuses on enabling safe and reliable navigation in complex maritime environments through advanced sensor fusion and object detection. Sacarny’s most impactful contribution is the development of a comprehensive perception system that integrates monocular cameras, LIDAR, and marine RADAR, detailed in his highly cited 2021 paper (42 citations). This system provides robust obstacle detection and tracking, a critical capability for real-world ASV operations. He further advanced the field by introducing the RoboWhaler, a modified Boston Whaler serving as a mobile marine autonomy laboratory. This platform, described in his 2021 paper (12 citations), supports both manned and fully autonomous modes, enabling critical algorithmic development and dataset collection. By bridging the gap between simulation and real-world testing, Sacarny’s work provides foundational tools and platforms that accelerate progress toward practical, reliable autonomous maritime systems.