XPRIZE today announced the 21 teams representing 13 countries advancing in the $7 million Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, a three-year global competition challenging teams to advance ocean technologies for rapid, unmanned and high-resolution ocean exploration and discovery. Their innovative approaches run the gamut: gliders and drones, underwater robotic swarms, autonomous underwater vehicles, robotics, artificial intelligence and massive computing platforms.
From a 25-country field, a panel of independent expert judges chose the semi-finalist teams who will move forward into the first round of testing. Semi-finalist team leads hail from Canada, China, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Launched in 2015, the Ocean Discovery XPRIZE features groups including university teams of undergraduate and graduate students, non-profits, startups and professional scientists and engineers.
During Round 1, teams will deploy their entries to operate at a depth of 2,000 meters, aiming to map at least 20 percent of the 500 km2 competition area at five meters resolution, identifying and imaging at least five archeological, biological or geological features at any depth, all within 16 hours. In other words, the competition technologies will aim to reach depths deeper than the Grand Canyon and map an area that is nearly five times the area of Paris.
ENVIRODRONE (Windsor, Ontario, Canada) – Led by Ryan Cant, the team is using aerial drones that launch next-gen AUVs.