Taking Ocean Surveillance a Step Forward with the Help of Robots

The disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 was a shocking incident in terms of air traffic control. Hundreds of professionals from different countries across the globe are engaged in air surveillance for keeping an eye on all the flights in air.

Yet, MH370, which was on its way from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport, almost vanished from mid-air. Nothing more was heard about any of the people onboard. Lots of people were employed in the subsequent searches. But to no avail. Nothing was retrieved from the ocean, although a number of countries sent their search teams.

Liquid Robotics and Boeing Coming Together

This somehow proved the futility and limitations of manned searches and showed how intense impacts human errors can have. This MH370 incident and similar other accidents that had happened earlier inspired scientists to look for automated ways to keep an eye on the seas and oceans.

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This is why Boeing went into a deal with Liquid Robotics to engage in a contract. The contract will result in the manufacturing of hundreds of seafaring robots. And all of them will be helping the military ships as well as the aircraft to keep an eye on the seas, thus taking ocean surveillance a step forward. However, these robots will help not only to track the flights, but also in the services of a large number of other industries.

Liquid Robotics – Already an Experienced On-Sea Campaigner

Liquid Robotics, which is located in Silicon Valley, is already a popular name in the field of sea surveillance. It is the manufacturer of a number of highly effective ocean surveillance tools.

The new one, named Wave Glider SV3, is a self-powered and collects seafaring data. It acts as a data center on the ocean for on-sea vessels. So, Wave Glider SV3 is likely to act as a storehouse of data and that can be acquired when necessary.

Keeping an Eye on the Ocean

The primary aim of Wave Glider SV3 is to keep an eye on everything on the ocean bed. Hence, it has a large number of sensors. And each one of these sensors is designed for multitasking.

These sensors can service different industries, ranging from fisheries, oil and gas, and so on. Moreover, these are also expected to help the coast guards for security purposes. These robots, which are being manufactured by Liquid Robotics, have on-board servers. These servers can continuously acquire data and analyze them. The analysis of the data will then be transmitted through satellites.

Functioning as a Floating Server Rack

Wave Glider SV3 is expected to function as a floating server rack, just as is done by the Amazon Web Services. They will be keeping a track of a lot of data on the open ocean beds. Moreover, the system also provides the option of being dynamically configured.

Multiple ARM-based processors can be used. Besides, the type of disk storage can also vary. This Wave Glider can either use a spinning disk storage or its solid-state counterpart. This provides the customers with the opportunity of choosing the best services that fit their needs.

Using Different Ways to Continue Functioning

It is quite natural that the robots might face a problem to run when it comes to battery life. This is true because the robots will be on the ocean. So, there will not be any process to recharge them.

Hence, the developers had to think of some process to solve this problem. The batteries of Wave Glider SV3 can be charged in a number of ways. They can either use the solar power to get recharged. Besides, it can also use the wave power to ensure that the batter gets charged and the equipment can function properly.

In recent times, the field of robotics is moving ahead at a fast pace. It is being implemented to perform a lot of functions. Wave Glider SV3 is just an example among many, which can take surveillance to the next level.