FMRI aims to deliver an intelligent ocean infrastructure, enabling world-class marine science that drives innovation, informs policy and safeguards the planet’s future.

 

Building a connected autonomous network
This month, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) AI Lab, backed by FMRI funding, delivered a proof-of-concept AI system that optimises the scheduling and deployment of a large fleet of autonomous ocean vehicles. The project provides crucial insights as FMRI explores how autonomous and digital systems can power a fully connected, global ocean-observing network.

 

Faster, more reliable and adaptable planning
The BAS AI model factors in everything that affects underwater vehicle performance, including speed, battery life, recovery points, and ocean conditions like currents. Using this data, it successfully simulated a full year of operations that included seven scientific missions of up to 15 autonomous platforms per mission, situated across the Atlantic basin. The result is a system that can supercharge mission planning, making it faster, more reliable, and adaptable. It can also quickly test emerging scenarios and explore “what if” strategies, such as adapting to new autonomous vehicles as they evolve.

 

Laying the groundwork for long-term impact
These early results will help FMRI and future partners improve efficiency and ensure any public investment into AI and autonomy delivers maximum impact. The next step is to plug this AI decision-support system directly into existing planning tools like the Marine Facility Planner (MFP). By doing so, the efficiency and insights generated by AI can be seamlessly turned into smarter, faster scheduling of autonomous research fleets, helping planners make the most of time, resources, and scientific opportunities.

 

See below a representation of this proof-of-concept across the seven science research areas around the world, illustrating the simulated movements of the autonomous marine vehicles. Turn on your sound to hear the narration:

  • Slocum Gliders (green dots, with lines tracking last seven days of transit).
  • ALR1500, known as Boaty McBoatface (pink dots, with lines tracking last seven days of transit).