Hybrid Underwater Robot Investigates Ocean's 'Twilight Zone'

Two hundred meters under the waves of the ocean lies the mesopelagic zone, a cold, dark region where humans rarely venture. This area, called the “twilight zone,” features animals like krill, squid, and jellyfish. Mesobot is an autonomous underwater robot developed by researchers from Stanford University, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, who published their research in Science Robotics . It weighs about 550 pounds and can track a single organism for over a day without human intervention, relying on a long-lasting battery and advanced tracking algorithms to follow creatures around. With an array of sensors and a high-definition camera, Mesobot could help scientists learn about this mysterious ocean area and its impact on the Earth's climate.