“We want to push the limits of the technology, because much of what’s available now is big, heavy and clunky. We’re trying to make robotics smaller and lighter.”
Brennan Phillips
—Assistant Professor of Ocean Engineering
Brennan Phillips designs and builds robots for use in deep-sea exploration. In collaboration with other engineering and oceanography faculty members on the Bay Campus and beyond, he’s made advancements in soft robotic grippers for collecting fragile undersea creatures, for example. And he recently developed a miniature deep-sea camera system and the smallest fiber optic reel system for transmitting data and images—all of which will make exploring the oceans more affordable and accessible.
“We want to push the limits of the technology, because much of what’s available now is big, heavy and clunky. We’re trying to make robotics smaller and lighter,” Phillips said.
But it hasn’t been easy. His collaborators and equipment are scattered around the campus, making it difficult for Phillips and his students to work efficiently. But with construction of the new Ocean Robotics Laboratory on the horizon, that will soon change.
“When we’re all in this building together, we’ll see each other every day, our students will see each other every day, and that’s going to propel our research and collaboration so much,” he said. “I can’t wait for the new building because it will solve so many issues we currently face.”
The tanks will be bigger and deeper than what’s currently available, power sources will be more convenient, and the lifting of gear into and out of the water will be easier. “If I wanted to build a big ROV system, the big question right now is where could we do that. This building is designed to support all kinds of projects, big and small,” Phillips said.