A floating data center with a hybrid wave/solar propulsion system, the Wave Glider autonomous marine robot is designed to help address the biggest challenges the world faces, including global climate change, hurricane and tsunami warning, and offshore energy and resource management, according to its maker Liquid Robotics.
The Wave Glider is the first wave-powered marine robot that uses the ocean’s waves for propulsion, and solar power for computing, sensing, navigation, and communications. A truly green marine vehicle, the wave Glider requires no fuel, creates no emissions, and needs no personnel to continuously collect and transmit data for up to a year at sea. The company has so far built about 200 Wave Gliders.
Founded in 2007, and based in Sunnyvale, California, Liquid Robotics is one of 200 venture-funded green start-ups in our green employer directory. It just raised $45 million in a 5th round of venture capital financing led by Riverwood Capital, with the participation of existing investors, including VantagePoint that led a prior $22 million investment in 2011.
The company has created over 120 green jobs, and is hiring more in several locations: in addition to its California headquarters, it has several locations, including its federal office in Annapolis, MD, its Marine Engineering & Test Facility in Kamuela, HI, and Houston, TX, the site of its joint venture with Schlumberger.
The company currently has 4 administrative and sales open positions in California and Washington, DC, but with $45 million in the bank, TheGreenJobBank expects that Liquid Robotics will undergo a rapid expansion of staff in sales, engineering and support.
