Plucking Minerals from the Seabed is Back on the Agenda
Big companies have looked into the idea of mining the ocean floor since the 1960s and 1970s. They proved the principle by collecting hundreds of tonnes of manganese nodules—potato-sized mineral. At first sight, these nodules are attractive targets for mining because, besides manganese, they are rich in cobalt, copper and nickel. As a commercial proposition, […]
DoD Eyes $3 Billion Investment for Underwater Drone Development
The Defense Department plans to invest up to $3 billion in funds in an effort to build and field unmanned underwater vehicles designed to perform surveillance operations, the Washington Post reported. Rear Adm. Mathias Winter, head of the Office of Naval Research, said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies-hosted conference that […]
Autonomous Vehicles to Reduce Windfarm Costs
A U.K. government grant of £4 million will be used to create remote inspection and repair technologies for offshore wind farms using robotics and autonomous systems. These will be used to inspect the condition of subsea power cables, identify problems early and ultimately, and extend their lifespan. The U.K. government has set ambitious decarbonization targets, […]
