Published in

July 2014 issue of Marine Technology Reporter magazine

MTR 100: Liquid Robotics Inc.

Posted by Irina Tabakina

1329 Moffett Park Drive
Sunnyvale, CA, USA 94089
T: + 1 408 636 4200
E: [email protected]
http://www.liquidr.com
CEO/President: Gary Gysin
No. of Employees: 115

The Company
Liquid Robotics instruments the ocean with fleets of networked, wave-powered ocean robots, solving critical problems for its defense, oil & gas, commercial, and science customers. Its Wave Gliders are seeking to transform ocean observation, making data collection and monitoring easier, safer, and more cost-effective. With headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA, and engineering & test facility in Kona, Hawaii, Liquid Robotics works with customers and partners around the globe to provide transformational, long duration ocean observation and monitoring.
In 2012, Liquid Robotics and Schlumberger created a join venture named Liquid Robotics Oil & Gas (LROG). Since this time, LROG has been providing oil & gas measurement services to the major oil companies using fleets of Wave Gliders.  

The Tech
The key innovation of the Wave Glider is its ability to harvest energy from ocean waves to provide essentially limitless propulsion and ensuring persistent presence.  It is the world’s first wave powered ocean robot. No fuel required, no personnel needed, no maintenance, no emissions.
Because of this energy independence, Wave Gliders are able to persistently gather and communicate ocean data on a far broader scale and with greater timeliness than ever before possible. It is no longer necessary to expose people to the risks and hardships of deep ocean operation. From the arctic to the equator, Wave Gliders are expanding our ability to understand the world’s oceans.
The Wave Glider is composed of two parts, the float (size of a surfboard), and a sub with wings. Connected by an umbilical tether, the float is on the surface of the ocean where conditions are the harshest with the sub below the surface protected from the surface conditions.
The separation between surface float and sub harvests wave energy and transforms it into forward thrust.
The Wave Glider is equipped with sophisticated computers for navigation and payload control, satellite communication systems, and state of the art ocean sensors to measure the environment around it. Highly customizable, it supports a growing array of sensors able to collect a wide variety of scientific and commercial data.
 

(As published in the July/Aug 2014 edition of Marine Technology Reporter - http://www.marinetechnologynews.com/Magazine)