Congressman tours local blue economy hub
It was in December 2020 when Jaia Robotics co-founders Ian Estaphan Owen and Jason Webster set off on what Owen describes as an ambitious plan in the field of autonomous underwater vehicles and aquatic data collection. They kicked off product development on March 13, 2021 and had their first prototype in the water September 16, 2021 — all during the pandemic with nobody in the same office.
The goal of the company is to democratize aquatic data collection by making underwater vehicles that could work in teams and cover large areas very quickly, very efficiently and a very low cost relative to anything else. Owen and Webster took their idea from a blue tech accelerator program to a win at a pitch competition. The prize, donated by one of Jaia’s investors, was rent for a year at their Burnside Street headquarters. Owen and Webster and two desks moved in in February, 2022 and soon filled that space with engineers and software developers, a small production area, and a growing business development arm.
Their product, the JaiaBot, is a 7 pound, 38 inch aquatic data collection device that looks like a small, red missile. JaiaBots are affordable (given their functionality, about $10,000 per unit), easy to operate, rugged and reliable, requiring minimal user training with wide-ranging capabilities. They can work alone or in swarms, collecting data 100 miles offshore at depths of 100 meters.
Now, 3 years since becoming the first tenant of Herreshoff Marine Museum’s new Blue Tech Innovation Center, Jaia Robotics has expanded into a larger space within the complex and last Friday welcomed U.S. Congressman Gabe Amo, along with RI Rep. Susan Donovan and Sen. Linda Ujifusa for a tour of the space and a demonstration of their new drone, the JaiaBot XR which has triple the endurance of the original JaiaJot and can travel upwards of 3 times the distance.
Amo, who has been a strong advocate of Rhode Island’s burgeoning blue economy, has been very supportive of Jaia Robotics work in both the defense and environmental sectors, according to Operations and Marketing Director Deedee Chatham.
Owen said that JaiaBots can help advance the blue economy in sectors from academia to defense; they have been used in applications from modeling sound velocity profiles and identifying hazards in port security, to water quality monitoring for the United States Geological Survey.
Amo praised Jaia Robotics for its innovative approaches to environmental and technological advances.
“As the Trump administration and DOGE turns their backs on innovation and scientific research across our country, I’ll continue to promote groundbreaking work in Rhode Island that grows our Blue Economy and benefits coastal communities,” said Amo, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Environment, in a statement following his visit. “During my visit to Jaia’s facility in Bristol today, I learned about the cutting-edge aquatic data that they’re able to collect through underwater drones and how those drones can be used to increase our national defense capabilities. We must keep going — enhancing dual-use marine monitoring and deployable capabilities while accelerating our efforts to understand the ocean in a cost-efficient and comprehensive manner.”
“Jaia Robotics is delighted to host Congressman Gabe Amo at a time when the rapid acceleration of affordable autonomous systems is crucial to meeting the needs of our war fighters,” said Owen. “Congressman Amo's active support for Jaia and other blue tech companies in the Southeastern New England area is vital in securing the necessary funding to bolster our defense capabilities.
“We deeply appreciate Congressman Amo’s bipartisan efforts to ensure Congress recognizes the availability of cost-effective, rapidly deployable solutions. These solutions can provide the US Army and Marines with the capability to ensure safe littoral maneuver operations and deliver overwhelming mass to counter threats from our adversaries.”