The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project has entered into a memorandum of understanding with ecoSUB Robotics - a subdivision of Planet Ocean - which designs and builds innovative autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for ocean research.
The collaboration will greatly support the realisation of a complete map of the ocean floor as AUVs are able to navigate areas which are inaccessible to scientists and divers for safety reasons.
Established in 2004, Planet Ocean provides instrumentation to the oceanographic research community, as well as the defence sector. In 2015 the company - together with the Marine Autonomous Robotic Systems research group based at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) - developed a groundbreaking micro AUV which led to the creation of ecoSUB Robotics, based at the Marine Robotics Innovation Centre of NOC.
The portability and affordability of ecoSUB Robotics enables new users to explore the capabilities offered by compact autonomous systems for survey, science and exploration.