Industry partnership deploys USVs to protect marine ecosystems

Liquid Robotics and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) Pacific Islands Region (PIR) have agreed on a multi-year agreement to develop solutions to help protect Hawaiian and American Samoa marine sanctuaries and monuments.

Liquid Robotics’ unmanned surface vehicle (USV), Wave Glider, will be the core of the collaboration, conducting long-term environmental monitoring and surveillance of the Pacific’s most diverse and endangered underwater ecosystems.

The partnership aims to address the gaps in long-term monitoring and scientific data collection that are not economically feasible with traditional research assets.

Autonomous systems and services will be used to identify illegal fishing activities and evaluate the threats of water quality & marine debris, climate change, and coral reef damage. The overall purpose of the partnership is to help protect some of the oldest marine ecosystems in the world.