Robots as Clever as an Octopus
task flexibility, and the ability to be gentler than rigid robots.A multi-national study recently published in Engineering Science and Technology highlights that controlling soft robots is challenging due to the wide range of possible movements they can make. This requires complex problem solving and computing power.Recent research has focused on integrating intelligent soft materials such as shape-memory polymers that can be 3D printed into complex structures and hydrogels that can be molded into soft actuators with tunable stiffness and responsiveness to external stimuli.Existing control strategies
Sea Machines Expands Product Line for Defense Customers
surface vessel (USV), the STORMRUNNER.SM300-SP is a special purpose hardware version of Sea Machines’ autonomy systems, built for the emerging fleets of attritable sUSVs and for those not requiring Classed-approved hardware.SM300-NG is a new generation autonomy system that provides 200% more computing power in a smaller size form-factor. The SM300-NG is available in both digital-only and digital plus analog I/O variants.SMLink Stream/Control-APIs are two new APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) now available to allow authorized third parties to stream data from SM300 platforms, as well
Frontier Robotics Secures First Commercial Sale With ORE Catapult
;s VDARE simulation to create virtually ‘real’ assets.The unpredictable nature of the world's oceans makes the inspection and maintenance of offshore assets challenging, with visibility in murky waters a particular obstacle. By leveraging advanced sensor fusion techniques with edge computing, Frontier Robotics' system offers enhanced visual clarity, robust and reliable positioning and 3D mapping through Simultaneous Localisation And Mapping (SLAM) technology. SLAM enables ROVs to create comprehensive 3D maps of their surroundings while simultaneously tracking their own position
Coming in from the Cold: Canadian Arctic Security Takes Center Stage
open to outside interests seeking to capitalize. Changing glaciology also requires new and updated technology that can keep pace with a melting environment. At the same time, rapid advances elsewhere speed up the impact of competition and global warming. “Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, synthetic biology, data analytics, autonomous systems, robotics and advanced cyber and space technologies are frontier technologies whose military and non-military uses create new vulnerabilities and complicate our national security interests,” states the defense policy.Arctic security threats
Strong Winds, Calm Seas
and a payload bay for additional scientific instruments.In addition to DeepLeng’s current abilities, it will host a newly designed object detection neural network to identify and clarify various species observed by onboard cameras. “The trained model will be deployed on a dedicated computing module for real-time, in-situ predictions, enabling the AUV to detect specific species and respond accordingly,” Wirtz noted. “This approach, we believe, will allow the system to capture richer data, improving the quantification of species abundance in the studied habitats.”DeepLeng
John Siddorn, CEO, National Oceanography Center
done things in the past is just not going to solve the problems in the future. So, autonomy is very much the solution of the coming decades, absolutely.Alongside autonomy, Siddorn notes another transformative force: digitalization. From artificial intelligence to digital twins of ocean basins, advanced computing is allowing scientists to not only visualize the ocean in real time but also predict future changes with unprecedented accuracy.Since joining NOC in 2020 as Associate Director of Digital Ocean, Siddorn has championed the embedding of digital approaches to furthering science, including through the
Quantum Sensing Beats GPS-Denied Navigational Challenges
magnetic field variations.Quantum sensing offers a solution.Quantum technology is unstable in the presence of non-quantum environmental conditions such as magnetic fields. It takes a huge amount of effort, such as extremely low temperatures, to isolate quantum systems enough for them to be useful for computing applications.However, quantum sensing takes advantage of that instability to detect and measure magnetic fields, gravity and acceleration with the precision exhibited by, say, quantum clocks. These clocks are so stable that they will lose just one second in 1 billion years – another feature
Sonardyne Integrates -4H-JENA Sensor into ADCP for Ocean Acidification Research
sensor, preconfigured using dedicated -4H-JENA engineering software to produce measurements at defined intervals, was cabled directly to the Origin 600, which powered the sensor and logged its data. The logged CO2 data was fused with the Origin 600’s ADCP measurements using Sonardyne’s Edge computing environment, creating an integrated dataset combining current velocity, direction, and dissolved CO2 levels into an NMEA-style format. These data strings were acoustically transmitted to the surface every five minutes via the Origin 600’s built-in acoustic modem. From there, data was sent
2025 Janus Review: USV Industry Trends
technological hurdles, demanding continued research and testing.Intelligent self-diagnostics paired with adaptive mission-planning capabilities would revolutionize USV autonomy. Integrating real-time diagnostics with autonomous decision-making requires highly advanced algorithms and robust onboard computing, capabilities not yet fully matured or widely available.Acoustic sensing faces major challenges such as high ambient noise levels, complex signal processing requirements, and reliable integration into autonomy algorithm—all areas needing ongoing research and improvement
August 2025
