Coronado residents and couple, Liane Thompson, CEO and Simeon Pieterkosky, CVO, are co-founders of Aquaai: Intelligence Below the Surface. It is cutting edge “ocean technology for positive impact.”
When Simeon’s daughter Emily, then 8 years-old, learned about ocean crises in school, she asked her inventor father to “Save the Seas,” after seeing him design and build 2-meter tall humanoid robots and museum animatronics. Simeon took on the challenge and built a fishlike platform which gathers and transmits data from below the water’s surface. Liane, his wife, a three-time entrepreneur and former global journalist, and he then founded Aquaai. With the mission of the company to save the seas by creating systems which positively impact our oceans and waterways.
Designed with Mother Nature in mind, the camera and sensor-equipped flexible platforms are unobtrusive to natural habitat. The product is a robot which collects data, it’s like a drone that looks and acts like a fish. I had the opportunity to interact with FaaS, “Fish as a Service”, to touch it, watch it working, feel it’s power and learn about the complexities of its design and operation.
The Aquaai team is a small, international and ridiculously educated group of ocean-loving people whose areas of expertise include oceanography, underwater drones, robotics, animatronics, cloud, big data, software, architecture, business management, PR, and marketing. The technology is cost-effective, power efficient and eco-friendly. In addition to their technology being able to be used in researching coral reefs, it is also an asset to fish farmers. It allows the farmers to be more efficient without interfering with natural ecology. It was created so as not to disturb fish, which is why it looks like one of them; the fish do not seem to mind the “robot.” “FaaS” can detect net holes, ensure that food being fed to the fish is being eaten and not just falling to the bottom, among other recorded data. The unit is equipped with video, a fish camera, and laser. It is powered by rechargeable lithium batteries. With 25 years experience in advanced computer modeling for marine data and a Ph.D. in Underwater Robotics, Chief Scientist, Dr. Graeme Rae, has engineered the navigation and path planning for maximum effectiveness. While at the lab, which includes an above ground pool for testing purposes, I was able to see how the robotic fish operates with laser guided technology and alternatively with remote control.
Aquaai has made a big splash in the media since 2015 and will continue to create headlines as it grows and fulfills its mission.
Aquaai headquarters and lab is located just over the bridge in Barrio Logan (and the building is owned by a native Coronadan). Being so close makes for an easy commute for Liane and Simeon, whose son Ducati attends CMS and daughter Max attends CHS. When not at the lab you may find them cleaning up the shores along Coronado beaches.
