New collaboration announced between NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, RTsys and Arctic Rays to build NemoSens SwordFish.

Beaufort, NC; Caudan, France; Satellite Beach, FL — In a collaboration among NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), AUV manufacturer RTsys and subsea imaging technology manufacturer Arctic Rays, the NemoSens SwordFish is designed to revolutionize ocean exploration and research by enhancing NOAA’s efforts to study and understand the seabed. 

NCCOS will use these vehicles to collect high-resolution digital images of the seabed as deep as 300 meters inside the United States Exclusive Economic Zone. These unique vehicles fill a technological gap and a growing need to provide sufficient images cost-effectively to characterize ecosystems and inform decisions about offshore energy development, sustainable fisheries and protecting special places in the ocean.