We are proud to announce that we are 1 of 9 finalist teams moving forward to Round 2 testing. Congratulations to all the finalists:
- ARGGONAUTS (Germany)
- Blue Devil Ocean Engineering – Duke University (United States)
- CFIS (Switzerland)
- GEBCO-NF Alumni (United States)
- KUROSHIO (Japan)
- PISCES (Portugal)
- Team Tao (United Kingdom)
- Texas A&M Ocean Engineering (United States)
- Virginia DEEP-X (United States)
Finalists will be recognized at Oceanology International’s Catch the Next Wave conference in London on March 15, with a formal presentation of the awards scheduled at that time.
To advance to the final round, the semifinalist teams had to pass a Round 1 Technology Readiness Test, which comprised of a site visit by XPRIZE staff and judges. The team’s technology was tested against rigorous measurement criteria to show its approach was capable of meeting operational requirements necessary for rapid, unmanned and high-resolution ocean mapping and discovery.
The final, Round 2 testing will take place during October and November of 2018. Finalists will have an opportunity to demonstrate their technologies in the real-world in a deep sea environment, where they will have to map the sea floor at 4000m depth and bring back ten images from the ocean.