71% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water. Our oceans are vastly unexplored. Increasingly we need to engage with our oceans as a result of climate change, population growth, pollution, and other impacts of human influence. What if we had robots to aid us in our efforts to mitigate human impact on the oceans? What if these bots were inspired by the years of evolutionary adaptation the natural world has undergone at these dark depths? Enter the world of deep sea robotics, where the underwater environment calls for a shift in the way robots are designed and deployed. 

In this studio, students will develop robots that harness the superpowers of deep sea creatures to address a specific human impact: plastic pollution in the ocean. Students will take inspiration from deep sea creatures and design devices to carry out underwater missions to prevent, mitigate, or remove plastics in our oceans.