JAIA Robotics Aims to democratize aquatic data through drone technology. At Oceanology Internaiona 2026. And cofounder Ian Owen talke about the JaiaBot, The user esperice, recent progecxts and the comapnyu’s shift into the defense Sector. Jaia Robotics are Low-cost (~$15K), ultra-portable autonomous vehicles that operate in pods rather than as single, complex asset. They are designed for shallow waters: surf zone, estuaries, rivers, lakes (up to ~100 m today, with roadmap to ~300 m). These Bots collect volumetric, time-synchronized data from surface to seafloor. When compared to traditional multi-million-dollar AUVs and USVs, Jaia is not trying to replace deepwater, high-end mapping systems—they’re fantastic tools. JAIA Bots complement and extend them into shallow, high-energy environments, using pods of $15K vehicles instead of a single $5M asset. That changes the economics and risk profile so that losing a vehicle doesn’t kill the mission, and you can deploy many more at once. Also, there hasn’t been a good solution for the littoral environment—big AUVs can’t do what we do. JAIA Bots are being used in environmental and climate work with sensors for temperature, depth, currents, bottom type, wave height. Fluorometer, DO, pH, conductivity, camera for oil spills, harmful algal blooms, and bottom imagery. eDNA for pathogens and species presence.