Research | Ocean Robotics & Technology

What scientific, economic and cultural discoveries are yet to be made as we explore the ocean?

The Ocean Robotics program at the University of Rhode Island is an active and exciting research group with projects spanning many facets of marine science and technology. Faculty from both the Graduate School of Oceanography and the Department of Ocean Engineering are using and developing robotic platforms for marine environments ranging from shallow coastlines to the deepest parts of the world’s ocean.

Robotic systems are transforming oceanography and revolutionizing our ability to collect and process data in profoundly new ways. Application areas include seafloor mapping and imaging, mid-water physics and biology, ocean acoustics, and much more.

GSO alum deploys BRUVs in search of sharks off South Africa

URI-designed baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVs) are low-cost tech for oceanographic sensing and exploration

What lies beneath

URI professor leads high-tech ocean research breakthrough

A URI-led team is revolutionizing deep-sea research using innovative robotics, lasers, and a three-dimensional camera.

Deep sea innovation

NSF recognizes GSO ocean robotics researcher Mingxi Zhou

Zhou develops robotics technology for iceberg studies, making robots operate underwater in more comprehensive & connected ways.

Career Grant

NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute

URI is the lead institution of the OECI, which develops new ocean technologies to explore the vast, underexplored regions of the ocean.

State of the art technology

Ocean Technology Labs & Research Groups

Name	Faculty/PI	Themes
Ocean Robotics Group	GSO & OE faculty	Our lab develops robotic platforms for marine environments ranging from shallow coastlines to the deepest parts of the world’s ocean.
Smart Ocean Systems Laboratory	Mingxi Zhou	Our lab group studies vehicle autonomy and decision making, multi-vehicle collaboration and accessible unmanned platform and system development
Undersea Robotics and Imaging Laboratory (URIL)	Brennan Phillips	Our lab specializes in creating novel systems for oceanographic research and deep-sea exploration, with a focus on imaging systems, soft robotics, and lightweight, low-cost technology.
The Omand Lab	Melissa Omand	Our lab group studies the physical movement of organic carbon in the ocean. We specialize in situ imaging and optical proxies from autonomous platforms.
NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute	Adam Soule	Our mission is to explore, map, and characterize the nation’s vast ocean territory, to develop and implement new technologies, and to engage future generations of ocean scientists, engineers, and stakeholders.
Inner Space Center	Dwight Coleman	We are a one-of-a-kind national facility that supports live ocean exploration via telepresence technology.