
Electric robots are mapping the seafloor, Earth's last frontier
CNN
Seatrec and Bedrock Ocean Exploration are two startups taking electric robots to new depths in an attempt to map the ocean floor.
Getting a fuller picture would enable us to navigate ships more safely, create more accurate climate models, lay down telecommunication cables, build offshore windfarms and protect marine species -- all part of what's known as the "blue economy," projected to be worth $3 trillion by 2030.
Underwater robotic vehicles equipped with sensors are helping gather that data quicker and more cheaply than ever before. But many of these vehicles rely on batteries with a limited lifespan, and need to return to a boat or the shore to recharge, making it difficult for them to map more remote parts of the sea.

The alleged drug traffickers killed by the US military in a strike on September 2 were heading to link up with another, larger vessel that was bound for Suriname — a small South American country east of Venezuela – the admiral who oversaw the operation told lawmakers on Thursday according to two sources with direct knowledge of his remarks.

The two men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat in a secondary strike against a suspected drug vessel in early September did not appear to have radio or other communications devices, the top military official overseeing the strike told lawmakers on Thursday, according to two sources with direct knowledge of his congressional briefings.











