Move with the times: How RS Aqua has evolved over 42 years

Happy Birthday RS Aqua!

1982 saw the cool kids listening to Madness, Shakin’ Stevens and the Kids from ‘Fame’ on their Sony Walkman’s, maybe watching E.T., Raiders of the Lost Arc, or Tron at the cinema – and was the year that Wardle & Scrivens Ocean Systems Limited was born.

Wardle & Scrivens Ocean Systems soon became WS Ocean Systems, and the name was changed to RS Aqua in 1999.

But what did ocean technology look like in 1982, and how has it changed since then?

Well, hold onto your Commodore 64’s as we take a look:

Mobile processing power

42 years ago the first mobile phones were hitting the shelves, but weighing about 10kg they were definitely not the portable smart phones we al have today! The concept of hand-held computing power was true science-fiction.

These days, we can review and control a lot of our ocean technology solutions via mobile Apps. Fish Farmers can monitor and manage key aspects of their farms wherever they are using Realfish Pro. The platform combines real-time data from environmental sensors such as aquaMeasure with powerful analytics – all in the palm of your hand!

Robots rule

The first remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was developed in 1953, and by the 80’s they were becoming more common as offshore developments were built in increasing deeper waters beyond the reach of divers. Since then, underwater robots have ventured into the Mariana Trench, can travel vast distances, and can operate almost independently on or under the water.

Last year, RS Aqua partnered with SEABER and sent a YUCO micro AUV across the Channel in a world first. Weighing just 10kg and measuring just under 1 metre in length, the YUCO took just 8 hours to cover the 39km’s underwater!

The rise of AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has come a long way since the 1980’s, where lack of computing power limited efforts. At RS Aqua we’re excited to be leading the way in how it can be used to monitor and protect our underwater environment.

Project MARLIN was launched last summer in collaboration with the University of Southampton, with the goal of developing a new underwater sensor that uses machine learning to identify harmful environmental activities and transmit information in real-time to a web app. For the first time, this will enable users to remotely monitor the underwater environment and make instant decisions.

So what do the next 42 years hold?

We asked some of the team here for their predictions:

Max – “Autonomy of transportation, such as icebreaker ships, will likely improve the safety and efficiency of research studies.”

Phoebe – “Improvements in underwater communication and the speed of cloud-based processing will hopefully lead to more collaborative research, on an international scale.”

Angus – “ROVs and AUVs with onboard AI could one day carry out testing of water samples in-situ, causing less disruption to underwater habitats.”