Engineers from MBARI’s CoMPAS Lab recently returned from an expedition to the Arctic, where they deployed the MOLA AUV under the ice for the first time, marking a major milestone in the development of this nimble technology platform. 

This fieldwork offshore of Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska, was funded by the North Pacific Research Board and conducted with collaborators from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management, and Michigan Technological University. The expedition team worked closely with local partners under demanding Arctic conditions to conduct high-resolution mapping surveys of the seafloor.

The MOLA AUV—multimodality, observing, low-cost, agile autonomous underwater vehicle—is a portable robot that can be operated autonomously or controlled by a pilot. Equipped with an innovative sensor suite and advanced algorithms developed by CoMPAS Lab engineers, this research platform is designed to gather high-resolution data in complex ocean environments.

During the recent expedition led by MBARI Postdoctoral Fellow Pushyami Kaveti, CoMPAS Lab engineers operated the MOLA vehicle beneath about two meters (nearly seven feet) of sea ice in shallow, confined conditions. Across multiple dives, the vehicle demonstrated reliable navigation and high-resolution mapping with onboard imaging and sonar, highlighting the maturity and potential of compact, easy-to-deploy platforms for under-ice operations.

This expedition reinforces the value of applying advanced robotics to impactful science and underscores the utility of MOLA vehicles for conducting research in extreme environments.