Exploring the Depths: How AI is Revolutionizing Seafloor Research

Feb 2, 2024

2 min

Arthur Trembanis

In recent years, there has been a significant shift in the way seafloor research is conducted, all thanks to the groundbreaking advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The depths of our oceans have always been a mystery, but with the use of AI, scientists and researchers are now able to explore and uncover the hidden secrets that lie beneath the surface.


With funding from the Department of Defense, University of Delaware oceanographer Art Trembanis and others are are using artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze seafloor data from the Mid-Atlantic Ocean. The goal is to develop robust machine-learning methods that can accurately and reliably detect objects in seafloor data. 



“You can fire up your phone and type dog, boat or bow tie into a search engine, and it's going to search for and find all those things. Why? Because there are huge datasets of annotated images for that,” he said. “You don't have that same repository for things like subway car, mine, unexploded ordnance, pipeline, shipwreck, seafloor ripples, and we are working to develop just such a repository for seabed intelligence.”


Trembanis is able to talk about this research and the impact it could have on our day to day lives. He can be contacted by clicking his profile. 


“You have commercial companies that are trying to track pipelines, thinking about where power cables will go or offshore wind farms, or figuring out where to find sand to put on our beaches,” said Trembanis. “All of this requires knowledge about the seafloor. Leveraging deep learning and AI and making it ubiquitous in its applications can serve many industries, audiences and agencies with the same methodology to help us go from complex data to actionable intelligence.”


He has appeared in The Economic Times, Technical.ly and Gizmodo. 




Connect with:
Arthur Trembanis

Arthur Trembanis

Professor, Marine Science and Policy

Prof. Trembanis research focuses on understanding beaches for resilience and mapping the seafloor using robots to develop the Blue Economy.

Seafloor MappingCoastal Erosion and MorphodynamicsHurricanes and Nor'eastersUnderwater RobotsShipwrecks
Powered by

You might also like...

Check out some other posts from University of Delaware

How Electric Vehicles Could Power Homes and Support the Electric Grid featured image

1 min

How Electric Vehicles Could Power Homes and Support the Electric Grid

University of Delaware researchers Willett Kempton and Rodney McGee are advancing technologies and standards that allow electric vehicles to send electricity back to homes and the power grid. Known as vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, this approach could help consumers manage electricity costs, provide backup power and improve grid reliability. Kempton pioneered vehicle-to-grid research at the University of Delaware nearly three decades ago, helping establish the foundation for using electric vehicles as mobile energy storage systems. McGee chaired the development of SAE J3068, an automotive communications standard that supports more affordable bidirectional charging. As automakers, including Ford, move toward bringing bidirectional power technology to more affordable electric vehicles, Kempton and McGee can explain how it works, what it means for consumers and utilities, and how it could shape the future of transportation and energy. Areas of Expertise • Electric vehicles • Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology • Bidirectional charging • Energy storage • Electric power grids • Automotive engineering • Renewable energy • EV charging standards To connect with Kempton directly and arrange an interview, visit his ExpertFile profile and click on the "contact" button. Interested journalists can also email MediaRelations@udel.edu to email Kempton or McGee.

Two years after the 2024 election, where does civil discourse stand? featured image

1 min

Two years after the 2024 election, where does civil discourse stand?

Election season has brought the expected vicious political campaign ads, heated online disagreements and difficult dinner table conversations with family and friends. But the University of Delaware’s Timothy Shaffer says there’s still room for civil discourse. Shaffer, UD’s inaugural Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Chair of Civil Discourse, studies how people can engage across significant differences while maintaining the relationships and democratic institutions that make disagreement possible. As chair of UD's SNF Ithaca Initiative, Shaffer works with students, educators and civic leaders to develop and practice constructive engagement across differences. He can comment on the following through the lens of the first midterm election since the vitriolic 2024 general elections. • What has changed since 2024: How have the past two years affected the way Americans talk about politics, disagreement and democracy? • Polarization and dialogue: Is political disagreement itself the problem, or is the greater challenge engaging constructively across differences? • The role of disagreement: Why civil discourse doesn't require consensus and how listening to competing perspectives can strengthen democratic engagement. • Politics and personal relationships: How to navigate political differences with family, friends, neighbors and colleagues without letting disagreements become personal. • Social media and the 2026 election: How online environments shape political conversations, what Shaffer expects as Election Day approaches, and how people can engage more constructively across differences. To reach Shaffer and arrange an interview, visit his profile page and click on the "contact" button. Interested reporters can also send an email to MediaRelations@udel.edu.

Blood Clots Can Sideline Elite Athletes. Could Microrobots Offer a New Approach? featured image

1 min

Blood Clots Can Sideline Elite Athletes. Could Microrobots Offer a New Approach?

Blood clots have sidelined or ended the careers of several elite athletes, drawing attention to a potentially life-threatening condition. The University of Delaware's Sambeeta Das is part of a team that has developed tiny, magnetically guided robots that could offer a new approach to removing such blockages. The list of athletes affected by blood clots includes NBA champion Chris Bosh, whose career ended after recurring clots; tennis great Serena Williams, who survived two life-threatening pulmonary embolisms; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, who was shut down in February 2025 when deep vein thrombosis was discovered in his right shoulder; and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, whose recent diagnosis of blood clots in his lungs has drawn national attention. In a published study, Das and her colleagues demonstrated that magnetic microrobots could mechanically break apart clusters of human liver cancer cells and clear them from narrow channels designed to model blood vessels. The robots used mechanical forces rather than drugs or chemicals to disperse the clusters. The research offers an early proof of concept for using microrobots to remove unwanted cellular material in confined spaces. Das can discuss how the technology works, its potential application to blood-clot removal, the challenges of targeting blockages inside the body, and what further research is needed to explore its use in patients. To contact Das and arrange an interview, visit her profile and click the “Contact” button. Reporters can also email MediaRelations@udel.edu.

View all posts