Liquid Robotics

Liquid Robotics is a Virginia-based wholly-owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company that collects and communicates real-time ocean data through its autonomous, long-duration, uncrewed surface vehicle powered by wind and solar energy, called the “Wave Glider.” It is said to operate individually or in fleets, delivering real-time data for up to a year with no fuel.

The company’s test and evaluation facility in Kawaihae, Hawaii, serves as the main hub for developing Wave Glider, ocean testing, and regional operations. As of August 2023, Wave Glider had completed hundreds of missions around the globe, traveling over 2.3 million nautical miles (NM) (the longest single being 9,380 NM).

Wave Glider serves in defense and security (anti-submarine warfare, vessel detection, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, communications gateway), and environmental assessment (meteorology and oceanography, tsunami and seismic monitoring, fish and marine mammal monitoring, offshore energy).

In 2017, Liquid Robotics launched a new version of its Wave Glider unmanned surface vehicle, a retooled version of its wave-powered sensor platform that’s in use by the U.S. Navy.

Key customers and partnerships

In April 2016, Liquid Robotics partnered with Ingenieros Electrónicos Asociados to sell Wave Gliders across Argentina and Uruguay. The company delivered the first fleet of Wave Gliders to the Japan Coast Guard, reportedly the largest fleet deployment of Wave Gliders in Japan, in partnership with Hydro Systems Development in August 2016. In September 2016, Liquid Robotics partnered with Maritime Robotics to sell Wave Gliders throughout the Nordic countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland.

Its customers include the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Orion Space Solutions, the University of Texas, Ocean Tracking Network, the University of Delaware, the University of Washington, Texas A&M University, and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS).