At MBARI, our “office” is Monterey Bay and its deep submarine canyon. ⌨️🌊

For many of our staff, that means spending a lot of time on the water. The crew of the research vessel Rachel Carson is a small team that supports a large variety of science and engineering operations. From autonomous robots to cutting-edge observatories, MBARI’s technology is revolutionizing ocean science. Our marine operations team is critical to the success of our mission.

The crew of R/V Rachel Carson, led by Captain Kavi Treesong-Engel, sets sail early in the morning, steaming to research sites in Monterey Bay and beyond. By mid-morning, they’ve deployed remotely operated vehicles, autonomously operated vehicles, or other instruments MBARI scientists and engineers are using to study our blue backyard. For them, each day brings new faces, goals, and often a new set of challenges. But this crew is always ready for the tasks at hand. By the end of the day, they tie up to the dock and start preparing for the next expedition.

MBARI’s innovative technology is transforming what we know about the ocean and its inhabitants. Our scientists, engineers, and marine operations staff work together to create innovative tools for a more sustainable future where autonomous robots and artificial intelligence can track ocean health in real time and help us visualize ocean animals and environments.

Meet MBARI: This team develops innovative new technology to map the seafloor 🤖🗺️

With marine life and ecosystems facing a rising tide of threats, the ocean exploration community needs nimble, cost-effective tools for measuring and monitoring ocean health. MBARI’s Control, Modeling, and Perception of Autonomous Systems Laboratory, known as the CoMPAS Lab is up to the challenge.

MBARI scientists and engineers build and adapt advanced technology that enhances ocean data collection. Led by engineer Giancarlo Troni, the CoMPAS Lab team develops scalable marine technology that can easily be modified for use in a wide variety of vehicles and platforms. 

Working with other teams across MBARI, the CoMPAS Lab leverages vehicles like the MiniROV to deploy and test new tools in Monterey Bay's submarine canyon and then adapt them for other mobile platforms. By sharing open-source design specifications and advanced algorithms with the wider ocean exploration community, we hope to expand access to MBARI’s engineering innovations.

MBARI technology is transforming what we know about the ocean and its inhabitants. Our scientists, engineers, and marine operations staff work together to create innovative tools for a more sustainable future where autonomous robots and artificial intelligence can track ocean health in real time and help us visualize ocean animals and environments. Studying our blue backyard is revealing our connection to the ocean—how it sustains us and how our actions on land may be threatening its future.

MBARI's Bioinspiration Lab is finding inspiration for new technology in deep-sea animals 🤖⁠

Scientists have explored just a fraction of the deep sea. We still have a lot of questions about the animals that call these midnight waters their home. MBARI’s cutting-edge technology gives researchers a front row seat to the astonishing diversity of life in the deep sea. Our Bioinspiration Lab, led by bioengineer Kakani Katija, is developing groundbreaking tools to view deep-sea animals in their natural environment. 

Bringing the laboratory into the ocean gives Kakani and her team a close-up look at delicate jellies and intricate corals. The team's innovative imaging tools reveal how deep-sea animals move, feed, and interact with each other. We're learning more about the important role of marine life in ocean health and climate. 

By observing the creative adaptations that animals have for surviving in a cold, dark, and watery world, Kakani and her team also hope to help find novel solutions to some of the world’s biggest engineering challenges.

Nature has found creative solutions to engineering problems. Deep-sea animals may inspire new technology for energy generation, transportation, and materials science. Kakani and her team believe bioinspired design offers a world of new possibilities for technology. 

To study the ocean, MBARI researchers and scientists not only need access to special equipment, they need that equipment to work—and last—under water. That’s where our Manufacturing Group comes in. 🔧⚡️

Led by Jose Rosal, MBARI’s Manufacturing Group works closely with our scientists and engineers to understand what they need to do their jobs better—then bring their ideas to life in the form of robots and other high-tech instruments.

Members of MBARI’s Manufacturing Group have a diverse set of skills that are critical to our research and tech innovation. Machinists take raw materials and process them to incredibly exact dimensions. Mechanical technicians build, modify, and repair all the mechanical parts that make our instruments work under water. Electronic technicians make electronic components, from circuit boards to wiring. Using wrenches and soldering irons as their instruments of choice, this team turns raw metals and a tangle of wires into a functional work of art able to withstand the harsh conditions of the deep sea.