Victoria, BC, July, 8 2020 – After multiple rounds of elimination and a virtual demo day, Open Ocean Robotics was named Winner of Campbell River’s’ NexStream 2.0 Wild Card Challenge.

The NexStream Tech Challenges are problem solving opportunities aimed at strengthening and accelerating Campbell River’s economy. Designed to motivate individuals and businesses to invent in areas that are immediately relevant to industry challenges of the BC Coastal region, each winner receives up to $100,000 from the Campbell River Area Angel Group (CRAAG), with support from the City of Campbell River and CRAAG’s investor network.

“We’re delighted to have received this award and appreciate all the support of the NexStream team throughout this 8-month program. It showcases the important role autonomous uncrewed vessels like ours play in addressing the needs of the BC Coastal regions through more sustainable, affordable and safer ocean data collection,” said Julie Angus, Chief Executive Officer of Open Ocean Robotics.

The Wild Card Challenge addresses specific local challenges using technology-based solutions. Open Ocean Robotics successfully demonstrated verifiable functional specifications, quantitative performance specifications, and a business plan for bringing the proposed solution to market.

“We are thrilled to announce Julie Angus and Open Ocean Robotics as the winner of our Wild Card Category in the NexStream 2.0 Challenge. Julie and Colin and team have done an amazing job not only throughout the competition, but in growing their business and growing the opportunities for data collection with their autonomous ocean-going vessels. We’re excited for them and certainly excited to see where they go from here,” said Dana Kammersgard, Co-founder of the Campbell River Area Angel Group (CRAAG) and the Campbell River NexStream Challenge.

“We’re proud to be developing some of the most robust and persistent autonomous boats in the world, and it’s thanks to the diversity of BC marine environments that we can thoroughly test them and ensure they can operate globally,” said Colin Angus, Chief Technology Officer at Open Ocean Robotics.

About Open Ocean Robotics
Open Ocean Robotics is a marine robotics and software company providing autonomous data collection and analytics as a subscription and service. Using uncrewed solar-powered boats, they deliver real-time data analytics necessary to monitor, protect and operate on our ocean. These autonomous boats stay on the ocean for months at a time continuously monitoring the environment for risks to marine life and maritime security. This provides a critical solution for safeguarding marine protected areas (MPAs), protecting marine mammals and securing waters from crime including illegal fishing, smuggling, human trafficking and threats to critical infrastructure. As a leader in marine robotics and data analytics with proprietary technology in autonomous vessel design, machine learning, and software development, as well as proprietary datasets of ocean conditions, sounds and images, Open Ocean Robotics is able to provide an unparalleled level of ocean insights.

About Campbell River’s’ NexStream 2.0 Tech Challenge
The NexStream Tech Challenges are problem solving opportunities aimed at strengthening and accelerating Campbell River’s economy. The challenges are designed to motivate individuals and businesses to invent in areas that are immediately relevant to industry challenges of the BC Coastal region and to accelerate and broaden interest in Campbell River as a technology destination. Administration and funding of the contests is done by the Campbell River Area Angel Group (CRAAG), with support from the City of Campbell River as well as other partners and experts invited to selection panels. Funding and services up to $100,000 are awarded in each challenge category, with opportunities for additional funding through CRAAG and their investor network.

For more information please contact:
Carmela Gonzales, Operations Lead at Open Ocean Robotics, info@openoceanrobotics.com or visit https://openoceanrobotics.com where you can find more resources on uncrewed surface vehicles.