Ulysses Launches $50,000 Underwater Drone for Ocean Monitoring

• •Ulysses' underwater drones cost $50,000, a significant reduction from Navy vehicles costing $5 million.
• •The drones aim to provide persistent monitoring of undersea cables, which are currently vulnerable.
• •Ulysses has secured contracts with the Navy and is expanding into various ocean industries.

Ulysses, co-founded by Will O'Brien, has developed autonomous underwater drones priced at $50,000, significantly lower than the US Navy's $5 million vehicles. These drones aim to enhance ocean monitoring, particularly for undersea cables, which are currently vulnerable and inadequately monitored. The Mako drone operates beneath the surface, launched by a surface craft named Leviathan, and is designed to provide persistent monitoring rather than episodic checks. O'Brien argues that the current reliance on expensive chartered ships for underwater tasks leads to exorbitant costs, making the Ulysses drones an economically viable alternative. The company has already secured contracts with the Navy and is expanding its capabilities in various ocean industries. The modular design of the drones allows for scalability and integration with existing technologies, including a Starlink connection for real-time data transmission.