Ocean Infinity has signed an agreement with XPRIZE to provide high-resolution baseline maps against which competitors for the Grand Prize of the USD 7 million Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE will be judged.
The Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE is an international competition designed to advance ocean technologies for rapid, unmanned and high-resolution ocean exploration. For this final phase of the Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, teams are given 24 hours to map at least 250 km2 of the ocean seafloor to depths down to 4,000 meters.
Ocean Infinity will be providing the ocean seafloor maps, against which competitors’ technologies will be judged, in the final field-testing round for the Grand Prize.
Oliver Plunkett , Ocean Infinity’s CEO, said: “At Ocean Infinity we are proud to deploy our know-how and technology for the benefit of science, education and charitable uses. Today’s announcement of the partnership with XPRIZE is the latest in our series of such initiatives. We are delighted to provide the high-quality imagery of the ocean seabed, against which competitors will be judged. We have set the bar high with the best technology and techniques that exist in the commercial market today. This is a great project for us as we look to share knowledge and learning, while enhancing outcomes not only for our business and our clients but also for the scientific community at large. We wish all of the teams the best of luck.”
Jyotika Virmani , Ph.D., executive director of Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Ocean Infinity for this final phase of the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE. Ocean Infinity is a pioneer in commercializing the technology and outcomes that this XPRIZE is all about and is a leader in high-quality deep-sea surveying.
“The competitors are developing technologies to help our understanding of the extreme environments on our planet, with the goal of rapidly mapping the deep sea floor at such high resolution. We are providing them with a competition area that is full of mystery and geological features that will offer a true test of their technologies.”