Floating pint-sized robots monitor water quality

Talking Points Memo : To “put California water online,” researchers for the Floating Sensor Network Project of the University of California, Berkeley, are developing miniature robotic watercraft. Each foot-long robot is equipped with a GPS-enabled smartphone to transmit data. Compared with manned watercraft, the miniature robots can deploy more rapidly, reach more areas, and cover more territory. Plus they’re relatively inexpensive. The goal is to help monitor and preserve water quality in estuary systems, lakes, and rivers where stationary monitoring systems have proven to be inadequate.