Stanford’s New Surfing Robot Opens Ocean to Exploration
news.stanford.edu
Professor Barbara Block and Keith Kreider of Liquid Robotics inspect the Wave Glider dubbed “Carey” just prior to deployment. (Photo: Kip Evans)
New robotic sensors expand the possibilities of ocean exploration, and a new iPad app brings sharks into your living room.
A few days ago, Stanford marine biologists were excited to detect a white shark swimming along the California coast north of San Francisco. Although the biologists routinely monitor sharks, this particular moment marked the first step toward a “wired ocean” full of mobile robotic receivers and moored listening stations that can detect ocean wildlife as it swims by.
Although similar technologies have been used to monitor the ocean itself, specifically to investigate climate change, this is the first such experiment dedicated to wildlife.
In addition to providing researchers with near real-time data of sharks and other animals, the project supports a new iPhone and iPad app designed to give the public a more visceral connection to the ocean and the creatures within.
The Wave Glider robot - named Carey in honor of noted large pelagic fish biologist Frank Carey - is probing the Pacific Ocean off the California coast in an initiative led by Stanford marine sciences Professor Barbara Block and her research team to keep tabs on the comings and goings of top marine predators, and to provide better census data of all species in the area.