Ten years of wave glider operations: A persistent effort

The Wave Glider® is a unique wave and solar energy powered Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV). Development of this technology began in 2005 and in 2007 the company Liquid Robotics was created to bring this product to market. In the ten years since the company was founded the Wave Glider and the entire field of USVs has evolved significantly. Lessons learned revolve around three primary themes: technology, marine operations and human factors. All of these areas saw distinctive experiences and outcomes driven by the outlook of Liquid Robotics as a Silicon Valley startup company. The approaches and assumptions of such an entity are often different from traditional ocean technology developers. In technology a product development approach can yield accelerated results but certain ocean engineering challenges take time to address. In marine operations considerations of the environment and launch and recovery are addressed through experimentation and adaptation. In human factors leverage of unmanned systems and attention to regulations are key lessons learned.