Liquid Robotics‘ autonomous PacX Wave Glider robot just completed a year long oceanic adventure:
[Liquid Robotics] said its success demonstrated that such technology could “survive the high seas”.
The robot is called Papa Mau in honour of the late Micronesian navigator Pius “Mau” Piailug, who had a reputation for finding ways to navigate the seas without using traditional equipment.
“During Papa Mau’s journey, [it] weathered gale-force storms, fended off sharks, spent more than 365 days at sea, skirted around the Great Barrier Reef, and finally battled and surfed the east Australian current to reach his final destination in Hervey Bay, near Bundaberg, Queensland,”the company said in a statement.
Some of the data it gathered about the abundance of phytoplankton – plant-like organisms that convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and provide food for other sea life – could already be monitored by satellite. However, the company suggested that its equipment offered more detail, providing a useful tool for climate model scientists.
