Researchers Use Artificial Intelligence to Translate Whale Talk

To understand the “clicks” sperm whales make to talk (stringing together a series of statements called “codas”), researchers have launched a five-year-long quest called Protect CETI. It’ll be the most comprehensive attempt at interspecies communication ever, the team believes. CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative) begins with the capturing and cataloging of millions of morse-code-like whale vocalizations. Video and audio tools will be used, and the data …

Advancing Technologies Deliver 3D Scans of Deep Sea Creatures

Marine biologists have struggled to study sea creatures in middle depths due to frigid temperatures, air pressure and visibility, but a new device called DeepPIV will change this. It can perform CT scan-like surveys of animals and transmit data back to computers to be composed into super-detailed 3D images. For the process, a thin beam of laser light runs through each creature, producing a rendering of …

Plastic Bubble Subs Grant Humans Access to the Deep Sea

As we continue exploring space, there’s a large subset of researchers and investors that are working their way into the depths of our oceans—of which we have discovered 5%. Most of those scientists are using technology that originated in the ’80s: bubble crafts. But clever, contemporary upgrades are making these spherical vessels more efficient than ever. These days, the vessels cost between $2 million to …