REIMAGINING OCEAN MONITORING

Abstract

Gilson discusses the Over-horizon Awareness of Seafloor Imaging Surveys (OASIS) Project. The OASIS Project brings together leaders in Canadian and UK ocean technology to develop a novel, autonomous, and scalable solution for marine environmental surveys. Led by Voyis, with support from Canada's Ocean Supercluster and in collaboration with the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and the University of Southampton, the project seeks to commercialize a wide-area seabed imaging capability that merges high-resolution optical sensors with long-range autonomous vehicles. The core innovation of the OASIS Project lies in combining three key elements: Voyis' advanced subsea optical sensors, the NOC's Autosub long-range AUV, and AutoNaut's wave-powered uncrewed surface vehicle (USV). Together, these systems will enable remotely managed, low-emission, over-the-horizon optical surveys without reliance on support vessels. Voyis will also incorporate University of Southampton-developed technology in automated image clustering and remote survey awareness into its product suite, enhancing onboard data processing and interpretation capabilities.

As global efforts to protect marine environments intensify, the demand for efficient, scalable, and high-resolution ocean monitoring solutions has never been greater. Both Canada and the United Kingdom have set ambitious goals for the protection of marine biodiversity, committing to establish and manage expansive Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Achieving these objectives requires not only well-defined boundaries and regulations, but also robust systems to monitor, evaluate, and enforce environmental protections.

However, current marine survey methodologies-predominantly based on the use of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) deployed from crewed surface vessels-face significant limitations. High operational costs, logistical complexity, carbon emissions, and limited survey coverage have hindered the scalability of underwater optical surveys, which are essential for assessing biodiversity and habitat conditions. Sonar-based autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) surveys, while useful for bathymetric mapping, lack the resolution necessary for detailed biological assessments. This operational gap poses a significant obstacle to the sustainable development and conservation of ocean resources.

COLLABORATIVE DRIVE FOR OVER-THE-HORIZON IMAGING

To address these challenges, the Over-horizon Awareness of Seafloor Imaging Surveys (OASIS) Project brings together leaders in Canadian and UK ocean technology to develop a novel, autonomous, and scalable solution for marine environmental surveys. Led by Voyis, with support from Canada's Ocean Supercluster and in collaboration with the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and the University of Southampton, the project seeks to commercialize a wide-area seabed imaging capability that merges high-resolution optical sensors with long-range autonomous vehicles.

The core innovation of the OASIS Project lies in combining three key elements: Voyis' advanced subsea optical sensors, the NOC's Autosub long-range AUV, and AutoNaut's wave-powered uncrewed surface vehicle (USV). Together, these systems will enable remotely managed, low-emission, over-the-horizon optical surveys without reliance on support vessels. Voyis will also incorporate University of Southampton-developed technology in automated image clustering and remote survey awareness into its product suite, enhancing onboard data processing and interpretation capabilities.

TRANSFORMING SURVEY PARADIGMS WITH AUTONOMY

By shifting from tethered ROVs to autonomous AUV-USV systems, OASIS represents a substantial evolution in how marine environmental data is collected. AUVs offer long-endurance deployments at scale, enabling comprehensive seabed imaging that is not limited by tether length or surface vessel logistics. AutoNaut's USV serves as a communications and navigation relay, allowing operators to remotely manage and monitor missions from onshore locations.

This integrated platform approach significantly reduces both costs and carbon emissions. It enables ocean monitoring operations to be conducted from shore, eliminating the need for crewed vessels, which contribute the majority of traditional survey expenses and environmental impact. Furthermore, human operators are removed from hazardous offshore environments, improving personnel safety while reallocating expertise to high-value roles in data analysis and decision-making.

SOFTWARE TO ADVANCE DATA INTERPRETATION

A cornerstone of the OASIS Project is its commitment to closing the loop between data acquisition and actionable intelligence on tetherless AUV surveys. Traditional optical surveys generate vast datasets that require significant time and expertise to interpret after the mission is completed. The software developed as part of OASIS addresses this issue directly, integrating automated clustering algorithms and remote awareness tools to enable rapid data triage and interpretation.

This real-time processing capability allows stakeholders-whether governmental, commercial, or scientific-to receive timely, in-mission updates to evaluate environmental conditions, acquisition parameters, and project goals, throughout the long duration surveys. An identification machine learning model is loaded onto the camera system to analyze images as they are collected, to provide compressed image summaries provided intermittently that highlight the target types identified, along with their geospatial distribution across the mission trajectory. Based on this in-situ information transmitted over the low-bandwidth communication link, AUV mission parameters or survey paths can be adapted on-the-fly to maximize survey effectiveness.

APPLICATIONS BEYOND MPA MONITORING

While OASIS is tailored to meet the pressing needs of MPA assessment, its impact extends across several critical marine sectors. In offshore wind, for example, operators increasingly require cost-effective pre-construction and maintenance surveys. Traditional methods, adapted from offshore oil and gas, are costly and time-consuming, rendering them less suitable for the rapid pace of wind farm expansion.

Similarly, decommissioning activities in mature oil and gas regions such as the North Sea require regular seabed inspections to ensure compliance with environmental regulations. Here, the wide-area capability of OASIS-equipped AUVs can offer both improved efficiency and reduced operational costs.

Defense applications also stand to benefit from the OASIS model. As navies expand their use of AUVs for mine countermeasure, they face a deluge of optical and sonar data without the tools or expertise to process it effectively to deliver on time-sensitive objectives. The OASIS software ecosystem is designed to bridge this gap, enabling non-specialists to extract meaningful insights from complex datasets.

THE EVOLUTION FROM IMAGE TO OASIS

The OASIS initiative builds upon the groundwork laid by the IMAGE project, a 2023 collaboration between Voyis, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Indigenous partners in British Columbia. That project demonstrated the viability of using optical sensors for MPA monitoring, providing high-resolution visual data that complemented traditional ecological assessment techniques.

OASIS represents the next phase in this evolution, expanding the operational envelope from nearshore, vessel-supported missions to autonomous, over-the-horizon deployments. The integration of Canadian sensor innovation with UK robotics platforms and academic research exemplifies how international collaboration can accelerate the development of advanced ocean monitoring tools.

ENABLING SUSTAINABLE OCEAN STEWARDSHIP

Effective stewardship of marine environments requires timely, accurate, and comprehensive information. Yet, financial and logistical constraints have long hampered efforts to routinely assess the vast and often inaccessible seafloor. OASIS confronts this issue not with incremental improvements to existing systems, but with a fundamental rethinking of how ocean data is acquired, processed, and delivered.

By eliminating crewed vessels, enhancing software-driven interpretation, and extending the reach of high-resolution imaging, OASIS offers a pathway toward more sustainable, scalable, and impactful ocean monitoring. As policies evolve and regulatory requirements become more stringent, the ability to produce meaningful data efficiently will be essential-not just for conservation, but for the responsible development of offshore infrastructure.

A MODEL FOR COLLABORATIVE INNOVATION

The OASIS Project underscores the importance of international collaboration in addressing shared environmental challenges. By uniting expertise from Canada and the UK, and leveraging the unique strengths of government agencies, academic institutions, and private industry, the project lays the groundwork for a new era in remote ocean observation.

As the demands on ocean space grow, so too does the need for smarter, more autonomous solutions. OASIS meets this challenge head-on, offering a new model for how we observe, understand, and ultimately protect the world's oceans.