Maritime Robotics: New Capacities - New Behaviors

Maritime robotics is growing in importance. Behaviors for many applications have been taken from concept to reality, delivering astonishing results and data that has started to change our models and our understanding of the maritime environment. Robots are significantly changing the speed and accuracy with which undersea tasks can be accomplished, and industry is taking note. New technologies, new materials, new sensors, new energy and propulsion concepts, new communication and networking methods, new control models and new inter-robot coordination schemes are being applied to new and existing applications areas alike. The goal of this Special Issue is to highlight the mechanisms the robotics community is using to adapt existing behaviors and to develop new behaviors for the underwater regime, triggered by the availability of new sensors or the discovery of new application areas. Recent changes in maritime technology capabilities and the speed with which new applications of maritime technology are being discovered suggest that the time has come to recognize these mechanisms within the maritime robotics domain. Five papers have been selected after peer-review to be published in this special issue.