In the Coral Sea off the coast of Australia, stretching for 2,300 kilometers lies one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef.  It is the world’s largest structure made of living organisms and can be seen from outer space.  It is the home to thousands of species of sea creatures and plants, along with many endangered sea creatures.  Much of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, but it is still under threat of deterioration.  Human interference, climate change, and other environmental factors have led to the death of parts of the reef.  One of the biggest threats to the reef comes from and invasive species.  

The Crown-of-Thorns Starfish is a starfish that looks more like an urchin spreading over the reef and feeds off of coral polyps.  Due to poor water conditions and the over fishing of it’s natural predators, outbreaks of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish occur.  In 2000 an outbreak led to the devastation of about 66% of live coral.  The Great Barrier Reef is once again under attack from this parasitic starfish.  Google’s Impact Challenge has just awarded $750,000 in funding to the Queensland University of Technology to develop an underwater drone to combat this issue.

Professor Matthew Dunbabin of QUT is helping guide this program to use an underwater drone to monitor and preserve the Great Barrier Reef.  Named the RangerBot, this drone could hopefully save the reef system.  The drone can travel autonomously through the reef without crashing into and causing any damage to the structure.  The RangerBot can also remain in the water under rough conditions, and has a battery on it that allows it to remain underwater up to three times longer than a diver.  Added to that is the fact that is has been designed to be inexpensive to build so that it can eventually be mass produced with the hopes of having RangerBots monitoring the Great Barrier Reef on a full scale. 

The RangerBot will be able to monitor the reef for pollution and sediment buildup, pest species, water quality, and coral bleaching.  But it’s primary job will be of tackling the Crown-Of-Thorns invasion.  The RangerBot’s internal computer will be able to identify Crown-of-Thorns Starfishes with a 99% accuracy.  Once identified, the RangerBot can inject the starfish with bile salts or vinegar.  Both of these substances are deadly to the starfish while posing no threat to the health of the coral reef.

Anna Marsden, the managing director of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, is hopeful of the aid the RangerBot can bring to one of Australia, and the world’s, greatest natural treasures.  The robot could be just what the staff charged with protecting the reef needs to make their jobs successful.  “Due to the reef’s size and complexity, effective management is a mammoth and expensive task,” she said.  Using low cost drones that can work longer than humans, and under adverse conditions may be the answer in coral reef conservation around the world.

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