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Connecting Sea to Space

Feb. 15, 2017

Drones are helping Boeing connect autonoous operations from seabed to sky.

Since 2014, Boeing and Liquid Robotics, a maker of autonomous maritime systems, have been working together on the Sensor Hosting Autonomous Remote Craft (SHARC), which connects intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities from satellites, aircraft and sub-surface crafts. SHARC is a version of Wave Glider, Liquid Robotics’ first wave and solar-powered autonomous ocean drone that is used for ocean data collection and communications.

The acquisition comes at a time when Boeing is exploring its underwater options, especially as government and energy customers request more unmanned ocean vehicles. The acquisition of Liquid Robotics will boost Boeing’s ability to do more sea surveillance and create wide scale communication networks.

As an example, SHARC can listen for different sounds in the water while connecting a swarm of SHARCs to a variety of Boeing marine and aerial assets thereby creating a closed loop seafloor-to-space connection.

About the Author

Stephanie Neil | Editor-in-Chief, OEM Magazine

Stephanie Neil has been reporting on business and technology for over 25 years and was named Editor-in-Chief of OEM magazine in 2018. She began her journalism career as a beat reporter for eWeek, a technology newspaper, later joining Managing Automation, a monthly B2B manufacturing magazine, as senior editor. During that time, Neil was also a correspondent for The Boston Globe, covering local news. She joined PMMI Media Group in 2015 as a senior editor for Automation World and continues to write for both AW and OEM, covering manufacturing news, technology trends, and workforce issues.