Parc, a Xerox company, has been awarded a contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the next development phase in the Ocean of Things, a project to expand what scientists know about the seas.

Initially announced by Darpa in 2017, the Ocean of Things project is deploying small, low-cost drifters in the Southern California Bight and Gulf of Mexico to collect data on the environment and human impact.

Each solar-powered drifter has approximately 20 onboard sensors, including a camera, GPS, microphone, hydrophone, and accelerometer. The different sensors can provide data for a broad array of areas including ocean pollution, aquafarming and transportation routes, says Parc.

Parc built 1,500 drifters for the first phase of the project and will deliver up to 10,000 for the next phase, the company said in a statement.

[Image courtesy: Darpa]