The Rhode Island-based Ocean Discovery League has received a $1.2 million federal grant for the development of a low-cost, deep-ocean exploration technology.
The funding, which was awarded through the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Integrated Ocean Observing System Ocean Technology Transition award, will help lower the financial and technical barriers to deep-sea exploration, according to a news release from the office of U.S. Senator Jack Reed.
The new deep-diving, low-cost Deep Ocean Research & Imaging System (DORIS) will be used to support ocean research and support the transition of emerging marine observing technologies, officials said.
“We commend NOAA, Dr. Katy Croff Bell, Ph. D., and the entire team at Ocean Discovery League for their efforts to accelerate deep-ocean exploration by developing low-cost tools and technologies, such as deep-sea sensor and cameras like DORIS,” said U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo in a joint statement. “So far, only a fraction of the ocean has been explored. By lowering barriers to study what lies deep beneath the waves, this project will broaden deep-ocean research and encourage more people and communities to participate.”
DORIS is a customizable tool that can be configured to meet the mission of individual projects, officials said. The tool consists of interchangeable sensing and operational modules that can be easily used to add together to create a technological solution that meets the unique needs of the user. It can also integrate with artificial intelligence-driven data processing tools to accelerate data processing and analysis.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.