The C-Stars
C-Stars are autonomous ocean robots designed for long-endurance missions and precise navigation. In-house software enables them to sail to user-specified locations and hold station when required over multi-month deployments. Their compact size and low logistical overhead make it possible to hand deploy from beaches, ribs, and small vessels to enable large constellation level deployments.
The Data
In a landscape that sees marine robots cram ever more sensors and grow increasingly complex, large and expensive, we seek to move in the opposite direction.
A small number of crucial sensors are tightly integrated into our platforms, following a principle of excelling at deploying a large constellation of platforms equipped with a few sensors.
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Sensor Data from C-Stars
Wind Speed & Direction
Air & Sea Surface Temperature
Surface Salinity
Significant Wave Height
Relative Humidity
Air Pressure
Surface Currents
Data Insights
The Constellation
Dense constellations turn the ocean from a sparsely sampled environment into a continuously observed system.
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By deploying constellations of C-Stars at high spatial density in targeted regions, we collect ocean data at a granularity unattainable with single platforms or drifting sensors. This approach captures spatial structure, variability, and extremes that are otherwise missed, particularly in under-sampled regions.
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We’re demonstrating this by deploying 50 C-Stars into the North Atlantic as part of the Forecasting Tipping Points program, funded by ARIA, contributing to critical efforts aimed at predicting climate tipping points.
