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OceanSyence — Blue Economy

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles for Ocean Biodiversity Monitoring

OceanSyence, a ScienceWerx portfolio venture, launched a fleet of AI-equipped autonomous underwater vehicles to commercialize ocean biodiversity monitoring at scale.

November 20245 min read
OceanSyence — Blue Economy
2.3M km²
Ocean Area Monitored
4,100+
Marine Species Identified
3
MPAs Supported
$12M
Conservation Contract Value

The Challenge

Roughly 80% of the world's oceans remain unmapped and unmonitored. The tools that do exist are expensive, slow, and geographically limited. Governments and conservation bodies lack the continuous data needed to enforce environmental protections, track species migration, or assess the impact of industrial activity on marine ecosystems.

The Solution

OceanSyence developed a fleet of long-endurance AUVs equipped with hyperspectral cameras, passive acoustic monitoring arrays, and onboard AI trained on a dataset of over 4 million labeled marine specimens. The vehicles operate in coordinated swarms, transmit real-time biodiversity scores via satellite, and recharge autonomously at sea-surface docking buoys.

The Outcome

After completing pilot deployments in the Red Sea, the Maldives, and the Pacific Coral Triangle, OceanSyence's platform now monitors 2.3 million square kilometers of ocean continuously. The data has directly supported three new marine protected area declarations and a $12M conservation data contract.

Partners & Collaborators

Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionIUCNOceanSyence Inc.SWx Blue Economy Task Force