The SeaSphere system enables the deployment of hundreds of unmanned devices in a single operation.
The startup Skana Robotics has developed a technology that allows groups of underwater robots to exchange data over long distances without surfacing.
Skana Robotics has created a new feature for its fleet management system SeaSphere. This feature addresses one of the main challenges of underwater operations – communication between devices.
Until now, underwater robots had to surface to transmit data, which poses an obvious risk of detection by adversaries. Communication underwater is extremely difficult: radio waves hardly propagate in water, optical channels work only over distances of a few meters, and acoustic signals have very low bandwidth – ranging from tens to tens of thousands of bits per second. Additionally, acoustic communication suffers from delays and interference.
The breakthrough of Skana Robotics lies not in a new method of signal transmission, but in a radically more efficient use of existing acoustic channels. Professor Teddy Lazebnik from the University of Haifa, who led the research, developed algorithms for "semantic compression." Instead of transmitting raw data from sensors, the system sends compact high-level messages: essentially, the drones communicate using an analogue of human speech. They inform each other about what they have detected, where uncertainties remain, and what actions they intend to take. This allows critically important information to be squeezed into a narrow acoustic channel.
The second crucial element of the system is distributed planning. The devices can independently make decisions about task redistribution: passing a detected object to the nearest neighbor, forming a search line, or redirecting part of the group for inspection while continuing to operate within the overall mission of the fleet.
Teddy Lazebnik explains that the team deliberately opted out of the latest AI technologies, including large language models, in favor of more proven and mathematically grounded algorithms. They provide more predictable and verifiable results. Modern neural networks are more powerful, but their behavior is more "volatile," which is critical for military applications.
The SeaSphere system enables the deployment of hundreds of unmanned devices in a single operation with coordinated actions both on the surface and underwater. In addition to defense tasks, the technology can be applied to protect and secure underwater infrastructure and supply chains.
The startup Skana Robotics focuses on sales to governments and companies in Europe. The company plans to release a commercial version of the product in 2026.
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