Open Ocean Robotics
Victoria, Canada maker of DataXplorer solar-powered, self-righting USVs and the XplorerView portal for maritime security and ocean data.
Open Ocean Robotics is a Canadian maritime robotics and AI company that designs, builds and operates solar-powered uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) for maritime security and ocean data collection. The company was founded in 2018 in Victoria, British Columbia, and also has an office at 25 Parker Street in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, at the Centre for Ocean Ventures & Entrepreneurship (COVE). Its team page lists more than 25 engineers, scientists and other staff.
The idea for the company came from an Atlantic Ocean rowing expedition: co-founder and CEO Julie Angus was the first woman to row across the Atlantic from mainland to mainland, and the crossing was interrupted by two hurricanes. The experience led to the idea of a robotic, solar-powered boat that could survive large waves and stay at sea for months while collecting data. Julie Angus holds an MSc in molecular biology and is listed as NATO Director for the Maritime Unmanned Systems Initiative. The leadership team also includes CTO Fritz Stahr, founder of the Seaglider Fabrication Center, and Chief Commercial Officer Sam Macdonald, a co-founder and former President of Deep Trekker who moved from the company's board into the commercial role.
The core product is the DataXplorer USV. It has a patented self-righting hull, a solar-panel deck that recharges the lithium-ion battery at sea, and an exchangeable electric pod motor. The company gives a top speed of 6 knots for short missions, about 2 knots average for long-endurance missions, and up to 500 nautical miles on a full charge with maximum battery capacity. The vehicle weighs about 150 kg (300 lb), can be launched from a boat ramp, shoreline or ship by a crew of one or two, and can be recovered at sea with the company's own crane- or davit-deployed launch and recovery system. Satellite, cellular and radio links support over-the-horizon operation.
DataXplorer is sold in five market configurations. DX Protect is aimed at defence, security and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing enforcement. Its payload options include Iridium Certus-100 and Starlink Mini communications, AIS, a Gill MaxiMet GMX560 weather station, 360-degree and zoom Lucid Phoenix cameras, a FLIR Boson thermal camera, marine radar, an Ocean Sonics icListen towed hydrophone, and battery capacity from 3.5 kWh to 17.5 kWh. The other configurations are DX Enviro, DX Listen, DX Survey and DX METOC, plus a DX Solar Station. The software side includes XplorerView, a cloud portal for real-time data and fleet operations, and two edge-AI products: Enhanced Horizon for surface object detection and Underwater Listener for acoustic detection.
Customers can buy USVs with software subscriptions or use contractor-operated service packages. Published missions include a 25-day IUU fishing enforcement pilot with WildAid and Oceankind in Hawaii's Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, participation in the US Navy's International Maritime Exercise in Bahrain with Task Force 59, a success memo from Task Force 59 and the Defense Innovation Unit, eDNA sampling with Stony Brook University, and a buoy-replacement validation at NOAA Station 46012 as part of Team @Orchard. The company reports sales to Iceland, Singapore and South Korea. Recent company announcements say its solutions are listed on the US CDAO Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace and that it has qualified for three streams of Canada's Defence Drone Initiative marketplace.
Funding has come from grants and venture investors. Grants include CA$4.5 million from Sustainable Development Technology Canada and the BC Innovative Clean Energy Fund, CA$800,000 from PacifiCan's Business Scale-up and Productivity program, and leadership of the CA$3.8 million Air Sea Ocean Monitoring System project funded by Canada's Ocean Supercluster. In October 2024 the company closed a CA$2.8 million Pre-Series A round co-led by Antares Ventures and Spring Impact Capital, with Katapult Ocean, Alacrity Canada, DTN Ventures and PacifiCan also taking part. Recognition includes the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution label, the Foresight 50 award, the BlueTIDE 2024 Autonomous System Award, second place in Singapore's PIER71 Smart Port Challenge, and selection for Katapult Ocean's 2024 accelerator.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
More related news
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
-
7
Suzy Teele’s Mission at ARM Institute RobotToday · Oct 13, 2026
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
Contact Open Ocean Robotics
WEBSITE
https://www.openoceanrobotics.com/HEADQUARTERS
Canada
Company Facts
Founded
2018
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
Early-Stage VC
Funding Total
-
Keywords
- Open Ocean Robotics
- DataXplorer
- XplorerView
- solar-powered USV
- self-righting hull
- Enhanced Horizon
- Underwater Listener
- IUU fishing enforcement
- marine mammal monitoring
- metocean monitoring
- maritime domain awareness
- Manufacturer
- RaaS
- Unmanned Marine Vehicle
- Cloud & Data
- USV
- Fleet Management
- Defense & Security
- Education & Research
- Oil
