OneFish: Experimental Buoyancy & Autonomous Recovery

Simulation is an indispensable tool—especially for synthetic training via sim-to-real workflows—yet we found that many of the true challenges in multi-agent swarm dynamics only surfaced with in-water field testing. Spanning 2019 through 2024, our Longfish research program focused on the empirical, physical exploration of how to construct and run low-cost drone swarms, culminating in the multi-agent OneFish autonomous swarm. The OneFish vehicles serve as our dedicated internal platform for studying coordinated swarm behaviors alongside practical autonomous deployment, recovery, and maintenance routines.

In 2026, we revived the Longfish program to provide real-world hardware targets as we develop and validate our acoustic UUV detection systems.

Blacktip: 1:1 Biomimetic Testbed & Additive Hull Engineering

We developed Blacktip as an experimental platform to investigate biomimicry for underwater hydrodynamics in unmanned underwater vehicles. Modeled at a 1:1 scale on a blacktip reef shark—a morphology chosen for exceptional gliding efficiency and maneuvering—the vehicle allowed us to build directly upon an evolutionary design space refined over millions of years.

Spanning 2017 through 2021, the program also served as our primary testbed for additive manufacturing in marine robotics. By exploring large-format 3D printing to produce custom, low-cost pressure hulls and hydrodynamic fairings rapidly, the project established core structural and fabrication methodologies that directly inform our current hull construction techniques.