Autonomous system improves environmental sampling at sea

An autonomous robotic system invented by researchers at MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) efficiently sniffs out the most scientifically interesting -- but hard-to-find -- sampling spots in vast, unexplored waters. Environmental scientists are often interested in gathering samples at the most interesting locations, or "maxima," in an environment. One example could be a source of leaking chemicals, where the concentration is the highest and mostly unspoiled by external factors. But a maximum can be any quantifiable value that researchers want to measure, such as water depth or parts of coral reef most exposed to air. Efforts to deploy maximum-seeking robots suffer from efficiency and accuracy issues.