SAVING THE SEAS WITH ROBOTIC FISH

Bio-inspired design by California start-up Aquaai protects water, infrastructure, and biodiversity with underwater Nemo look-alike drones

“Super storms increase while healthy water bodies decrease globally, therefore adaptation and mitigation innovation are necessary. Without new tools there will be a larger health crisis. At Aquaai we have a 3E outlook - Environmental Protection, Education Building, and Economy Boosting. Using those 3Es we aim to Empower communities hardest hit by the climate crisis.”  - Liané (lee-ah-nah) Thompson, Founder and CEO of Aquaai

Interview with Liané Thompson

By Suzanne Forcese

WT: Liané, as a former global journalist and executive producer turned entrepreneur— please give us an overview of Aquaai.

Thompson: Aquaai is a US (Delaware C) B2B hardware-enabled software service company with subsidiaries in Norway and the UAE.

Aquaai delivers affordable, reliable information from aquatic environments through 3D printed, fishlike autonomous underwater vehicles (FAUVs), enabling early detection of environmental stressors and rapid interventions to protect water resources, infrastructure, and biodiversity. FaaS - Fish as a Service®

WT: What was the journey that inspired the founding of Aquaai and of you being named Robot Fish Lady?

Thompson: Aquaai's Chief Visionary Officer is Simeon Pieterkosky. Simeon has 38 years in the climate space ever since he walked into a climate conference in his native Cape Town, South Africa at the age of 12. Simeon has spent his life inventing frontier technologies, including water filtration systems and robots. In fact, he started building 2-meter-tall humanoid robots 30 years ago.

I met Simeon doing a story on him and his inventions, which was not long after he had made a promise to his daughter to dedicate his engineering skills to "saving the seas". Simeon and I became a couple, and we opened Aquaai to make good on that promise.

As a Silicon Valley startup, one tries to stand out from all the other startups, so we started branding Aquaai early on. We made our first robotic fish prototype as a clownfish, because everyone loves Nemo, and we each took company profile photos holding it.

Soon Aquaai was known as the Robot Fish company, and because of our profile pictures, I branded myself Robot Fish Lady while fundraising. I often sent out quarterly updates to potential investors starting my emails with "It's me again Robot Fish Lady. This is the latest on Aquaai." It was my way of getting them to remember us... and it worked! After four years of sending quarterly updates to investor Adam Draper of Boost, one of my emails landed at the right time as he was reading up on the climate crisis. Adam decided to invest in the ocean, and Aquaai was one of his first investments in the space.

WT: In the ten years of your journey Aquaai has gained award-winning recognition and you, as a woman entrepreneur, have been recognized as: One of 20 Women Driving the Future of Climate Tech; Innovative Women in AI / Blockchain – Forbes; 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology 2023 - ETH 2015.  What has this meant for you?

Thompson: Validation. The recognition from industry operators is fantastic. It proves that the Aquaai team is building something totally unique and way ahead of the mass market, although the market is catching up. 

With extraordinarily little outside capital raised, we have grown via customer NRE's, paid trials and down payments, along with an Innovation Norway grant. 

While it has been a constant challenge, the need is evident, and we are inundated with inbound requests to try our solution. 

WT:Please also tell us about the Team talent.

Thompson: The team is composed of mad-hatters, each brilliant and eccentric, yet together they are the special sauce of Aquaai. Each person is dedicated to the mission, and unified they are fierce when it comes to solving engineering issues with the goal to make Aquaai's system the most affordable, reliable tool for subsurface information. The team consists of robotics experts, product designers, a material scientist and physicist, software / hardware engineers, business executives, financial executives, and marketing gurus.

WT: Please comment on the interconnected aspects of water and how Aquaai serves a key role in connecting the dots by defining the Mission & Vision of Aquaai.

Thompson: Aquaai's vision is to create a future where advanced technology harmonizes with nature, ensuring the health and longevity of aquatic environments and humankind for generations to come.
Aquaai’s mission is to revolutionize environmental monitoring and data collection in aquatic ecosystems using bio-inspired robotics, Artificial Intelligence, 3D printing and FaaS (Fish as a Service) modeling, promoting sustainable water management and ecological preservation.

WT: Please describe the technology of FaaS and what this Nemo look-alike can accomplish.

Thompson: Aquaai's Fish-as-a-Service (FaaS) technology provides visual and environmental data from aquatic environments. We lease the hardware, and the data is accessible on a web dashboard for a subscription fee.

We utilize advanced robotics, 3D printing and AI to deliver data from water bodies. Our unique bio-inspired underwater drones mimic the movements of fish for power efficiency, maneuverability in tight spaces, and unobtrusive deployment so as not to disrupt the local habitat.

These biomimetic robotic fish are equipped with a range of sensors and cameras, allowing them to collect extensive data on water quality, marine life, and underwater environments. Data is sent to the Aquaai back end where we leverage AI algorithms to analyze this data, providing valuable insights for various applications, such as environmental monitoring in rivers, lakes and reservoirs, aquaculture, biodiversity protection, Marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR), health, security, and marine research.

The robotic fish are capable of accomplishing several tasks that traditional underwater monitoring systems cannot. They are maneuverable in tight spaces, navigating complex underwater terrains with ease. They closely mimic the natural behavior of fish to avoid disturbing marine life.

Due to the ability to get up close proximity, we can gather high-resolution visual and environmental data. This enables more accurate and efficient monitoring of aquatic ecosystems.

Additionally, their biomimetic design allows them to blend seamlessly into their surroundings, making them ideal for long-term and continuous data collection. They remain in the water up to a year and charge via inductive charging.

WT: Why was the fish model chosen?

Thompson: Simeon is an expert in animatronics and robotics. When looking at what is needed in a climate changing world, and drawing from 20 million years of evolution, we observed that creatures in the water are typically fish. So we designed a fish, which is durable, power efficient and unobtrusive.

WT: How is the FaaS superior to any other type of monitoring system?

Thompson: In addition to being able to move and behave like real fish the integration of advanced perception, computer vision, AI and machine learning algorithms enable us to process and analyze data, offering immediate insights and actionable information. The alerts are crucial for applications such as aquaculture, where quick decision-making can prevent problems like disease outbreaks or water quality issues.

Additionally, the continuous data collection and monitoring capabilities of Aquaai’s FaaS technology surpass the intermittent data points typically gathered by traditional methods, providing a more comprehensive and dynamic understanding of underwater environments. This combination of innovative design and innovative technology positions Aquaai's FaaS as a superior solution for modern aquatic monitoring, infrastructure, and research needs.

WT: Please tell us about the projects you have been involved with in California and Norway.

Thompson: We are a California HQ and our initial building and testing in Monterey Bay and then later in San Diego.

Our first customers came from Norway, probably because Norway is superior in water technologies. We opened a subsidiary in Norway shortly before covid hit. During the pandemic we upgraded our technology and deployed our system in Norwegian sustainable fish farms.

WT: And recently you have expanded to Abu Dhabi. Why has this been a significant location for you?

Thompson: The company still has its US hub at Alta Sea: Port of LA; offices in Norway for our Norwegian customers; and recently we expanded operations setting up Aquaai MENA in Abu Dhabi, The United Arab Emirates. This is due to the demand we are getting from the MENA region.

We participated in the NEOM Food Program focusing on food security and HUB71 has provided us with a soft landing in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The UAE is very serious about addressing water scarcity and food security. They also recognize the need for autonomous systems, AI and frontier technologies in mitigating the risks associated with the climate crisis.

We are in conversations with various groups in the UAE to bring our solution to their waterways and do our part to protect UAE water bodies, biodiversity and contribute to food security.

WT: What is on your radar for the future of FaaS and the vision you have.

Thompson: As for the future of FaaS, as mentioned, we have no shortage of inbound requests to deploy our system in various use cases, from monitoring reservoirs, lakes, rivers, to city water quality in marinas, beaches and canals.

Recently, we have been asked to monitor mangrove growth for mCDR, to monitor marine protected areas, and to detect derelict fishing gear.

Having so many potential customers is a really great position to be in for any company, and when you look at that, and Aquaai's global presence, as well as our technological achievements, it's hard to believe we've accomplished it all on such little outside investment.

But given the demand and the increasing water crisis, we really need to go faster, which requires capital.

In August, Aquaai turns 10 years-old! That's ten years of pushing the limits in biomimicry robotics to protect water bodies and aquatic ecosystems for future generations. To celebrate, we're inviting everyone to visit the Aquaai website to check out our journey and help us to protect our water bodies and aquatic environments.

This would bring us closer to a vision, where schools of Aquaai robot fish swim globally protecting all water bodies.