The ocean is essential to life on Earth, but it is under tremendous environmental stress.
According to the World Economic Forum's Friends of Ocean Action group, it is not too late to assist them in recovering.
Here's how robots are helping to protect the aquatic environment.
1. Seafloor mapping
Planblue, a German startup, is building a very precise map of the ocean floor using a robotic "underwater satellite" that navigates using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
2. Whale conservation
According to the World Cetacean Alliance, collisions with ships kill or hurt up to 30,000 whales each year. The largest and most endangered species are most vulnerable, but technology is helping them.
Whale Safe in California use an acoustic buoy to detect whales and sends a signal to ships to slow down. It has already reduced the amount of whale crashes in the congested shipping waterway going to Los Angeles' port.
3. Marine health monitoring
Hydrus, an underwater drone built by Australian entrepreneurs Advanced Navigation, can dive 3,000 metres below the ocean's surface. It can find and identify new marine species because it is equipped with powerful lights and can operate totally autonomously.
4. A census of the sea creatures
Ocean environmentalists, like authorities on land, need to know who and what lives where. Although there are an estimated 2.2 million marine species, only 10% have been identified and named. Scientists are now on the hunt for the remainder.
Ocean Census will use remote underwater robots to search for new species, with the goal of discovering 100,000 new organisms within a decade. High-resolution imagery and lasers will be augmented by equipment capable of sequencing DNA lost into the ocean by its inhabitants.
5. Development of an underwater internet to facilitate exploration
On land, the internet of things is becoming more common. Can we, however, accomplish the same thing underwater? WSense, an Italian company, has a solution.
It uses unique acoustic and optical technologies to network and transmit data between submerged devices and remote sensors, solving a fundamental difficulty in ocean monitoring. It has aquaculture, energy, security, and defence applications in addition to environmental benefits.
6. Genetic ocean health assessment
The ocean is teeming with DNA. It is known as environmental DNA, or eDNA, and it is shed by living species. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in California is collecting eDNA and monitoring ocean health via long-range autonomous robot submarines.
"This DNA soup offers clues about biodiversity changes in sensitive areas, the presence of rare or endangered species, and the spread of invasive species - all of which are critical to understanding, promoting, and maintaining a healthy ocean," the MBARI team said.
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