Untethered underwater drones are charting ocean floor territory faster than any research vessel could alone.Less than a quarter of the ocean floor has been mapped in detail, but fleets of autonomous underwater vehicles are closing that gap. Equipped with sonar and low-light cameras, the drones can operate for weeks at extreme depths, surfacing periodically to relay data via satellite. Researchers hope the resulting maps will aid everything from cable-laying to identifying previously unknown hydrothermal ecosystems.
