Tiny Robots Swarm Into Future Ocean Exploration

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Earlier this week, the National Science Foundation awarded grants to two teams at University of San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography for development of small, low-cost, ocean-going robots that swarm like schools of fish.

The so-called autonomous underwater explorers (AUEs) will work as follows: Many tens or even hundreds of pint-size AUEs will be dropped into the ocean along with a few “motherships” — basketball-sized AUEs.

The smaller AUEs will communicate with the larger using acoustic signals. Together, the swarm will provide detailed and fine-grained information on how the water is moving — rising, falling, swirling, and so on. via Christian Science Monitor

Ocean Research Robots: A Future Vision for Ocean Observation