A new chapter in ocean exploration will soon begin with the use of futuristic robots, the sensorbots, which are equipped with biogeochemical sensors.

The robotic devices are being designed and developed in the laboratory of Professor Deirdre Meldrum, ASU Senior Scientist and Director of the Center for Biosignatures Discovery Automation at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute.

According to Meldrum, the Sensorbot project will significantly expand the scope of oceanographic investigations carried out by Biodesign's Center for Biosignatures Discovery Automation.

"We are leveraging our automation, sensors, biotechnology, and systems expertise to develop unique robots that can be deployed by the hundreds, travel in formation, and communicate together for exploration and discovery," Meldrum said.

The Sensorbots will enable continuous spatiotemporal monitoring of key elements in the ocean and the ability to respond to events such as underwater earthquakes and hydrothermal vents, the scientists said.

"Such research is essential for a more thorough understanding of the multiple systems in the oceans -- microbes and other sea life, geology, and chemicals," Meldrum added.

The Sensorbot project utilizes the National Science Foundation's Ocean Observatories Initiative, particularly the Regional Scale Nodes (RSN) project, led by Professor John Delaney of the University of Washington involving the construction of a cabled underwater observatory which provides high bandwidth and power for real-time oceanographic observations and experiments.

These include the study of mineral concentrations, gas compositions, biological blooms, and detailed analyses of extremophiles which are organisms flourishing in environments usually considered inhospitable to life.

Sensorbots will also be able to recharge their batteries and download their data in the cabled observatory, allowing immediate transmission via the internet and making the information available to scientists and educators anywhere in the world.

The reports on surrounding environmental conditions to the inner electronics will convert the signal into flashes of light, providing a sort of visual Morse code. Meanwhile, a high-speed camera situated on the seafloor picks up the signals and stores them for later decoding aboard the ship, the researchers said.

As the sensorbot technology is further enhanced, these orbs may blanket large areas of the ocean and transmit information regularly to a central data hub. According to researchers, Sensorbots will ultimately be capable of operating in semi-autonomous robotic swarms, moving under remote control, in a 3D geometric formation through precisely controlled volumes of seawater.

Meldrum expressed high expectations on the use of this technology for advancing science in previously inaccessible realms of the deep ocean.

"Sensorbots will provide a continuous presence in the ocean over space and time, from nanometers to kilometers and nanoseconds to years, enabling us to discover and understand the complex biogeochemical systems of our oceans that play a key role in our quality of life," he added.