4 Wave Gliders Begin Their Autonomous Pacific Crossing Attempt 41
In 2009, an autonomous ocean glider bobbed and dipped its way across the Atlantic; now, reader cylonlover writes with word that "Four small autonomous aquatic robots have embarked on a 60,000-kilometer (37,000-mile) journey across the Pacific ocean. The Wave Gliders, built by California-based Liquid Robotics, left San Francisco last Thursday." Two of the robot craft are to head to Australia, the other two to Japan. According to the IEEE description, "Waves will power their propulsion systems and the sun will power the sensors that will be measuring things like water salinity, temperature, clarity, and oxygen content; collecting weather data, and gathering information on wave features and currents."
Batteries (Score:4, Interesting)
For those of you just reading the summary, the solar panels exist to recharge the onboard batteries.
Battery capacity is more or less the reason there are major differences in price between Liquid Robotics various offerings.
There used to be a PDF on the website that showed their different models & specs, but it doesn't seem to exist anymore.