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Ocean Data Revolution: Low-Cost AUVs Unveiled
4 Feb
Summary
- Low-cost autonomous underwater vehicles sample ocean data.
- Funding secured to expand production of innovative AUVs.
- AUVs aim to drastically reduce the cost of ocean data collection.
Gathering data from beneath the ocean's surface has historically been a costly and slow endeavor. Satellites provide surface information, but detailed subsurface data has been limited, impacting industries from fishing to defense. Apeiron Labs, founded in 2022, is tackling this challenge with innovative, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).
These AUVs, measuring three feet long and weighing just over 20 pounds, are designed for cost-effective deployment. They travel up and down the water column, sampling temperature, salinity, and acoustics multiple times daily. The vehicles communicate with a cloud-based operating system that refines ocean models based on the collected data.
Apeiron Labs recently closed a $9.5 million Series A funding round, led by Dyne Ventures and others. This investment will support the expansion of their AUV production. The company's goal is to achieve a 1000-fold reduction in the cost of ocean data, likening their impact to that of CubeSats in space exploration.
The potential applications for this technology are vast. The U.S. Navy could utilize the AUVs for submarine detection, while fisheries could benefit from enhanced temperature and salinity data. Apeiron envisions deploying numerous AUVs to provide persistent, high-resolution monitoring in critical ocean areas.
