Canada’s Ocean Supercluster Announces $3.8M Air Sea Ocean Monitoring System (ASOMS) Project

March 26, 2025

(Vancouver, BC) – Today, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster (OSC) announced three new ocean innovation projects valued at more than $10 million, including the $3.8 million Air Sea Ocean Monitoring System (ASOMS) Project. This new, collaborative OSC project will help position Canada as a leader in ocean monitoring.

The ASOMS project addresses essential gaps in observation capabilities vital for the long-term monitoring of marine protected areas, environmental surveillance for offshore energy installations, and maritime domain awareness. By integrating robotic ocean and aerial observing platforms with AI-enabled sensing technology and energy management solutions, the project delivers a hybrid observation system designed for long endurance and multi-domain ocean monitoring and surveillance.

The ASOMS solution will yield new capabilities for Canadian end users such as the RCMP, DFO, and commercial companies working in Canadian waters. This potentially includes applications in the Arctic, where the new tools can create high wage jobs and strengthen Indigenous people’s stewardship of local environments through innovative technologies.

The project will allow the development of new AI-enabled data services that optimize the utility of uncrewed systems in marine monitoring applications, presenting significant new capabilities for maritime environmental monitoring and security applications. This will enable exports of Canadian robotic solutions for the marine industry, stimulating economic growth.

This project is led by Victoria, BC-based Open Ocean Robotics, in partnership with Seahawk Robotics in Vancouver, BC, ASL Environmental Science Inc. in Saanichton, BC, Rockland Scientific in Victoria, BC, and Glas Ocean Electric in Halifax, NS. With a total project value of $3.8M Canada’s Ocean Supercluster is investing $1.4M with the balance coming from project partners.

Canada’s ocean community has developed a bold, collective goal to grow the country’s ocean economy by 5X to $220B by 2035. Continued investment in the accelerated development and commercialization of globally relevant, made in Canada ocean solutions, including the projects announced today, will help us realize this transformative growth potential mapped out through Ambition 2035.

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Media Contacts
Nancy Andrews
Canada’s Ocean Supercluster
nancy.andrews@oceansupercluster.ca

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