Prestigious title awarded for marine robotics

With a career focused on robotics and mapping ocean floor habitats, Head of the Faculty of Engineering and IT’s School of Aerospace, Mechatronic and Mechanical Engineering Professor Stefan Williams was awarded the title of Distinguished Lecturer by the IEEE Ocean Engineering Society for his high degree of technical proficiency in oceanographic research and engineering. 

“My work in the development of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and our program of marine surveying are recognised internationally for the quality of the data we are collecting, as well as the scale of the program we operate,” he said. 

For over a decade, Professor Williams’ team has operated an integrated benthic monitoring program through Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS). The program uses AUV systems to collect seafloor imagery at key reference sites around Australia.  

Benthic zones, some of the least observed habitats in the world, are ecological regions at the lowest point in a body of water, such as the ocean floor. Over the past ten years, Professor Williams has used marine robotic vehicles to study these sensitive marine habitats around Australia’s vast coastline. This has included surveys of coral reefs on the country’s east and west coasts, as well as temperate regions in Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and NSW.   

The program has focused on collecting long time-series imagery, helping scientists document habitat changes over time. This has included surveys following events such as coral bleaching and cyclones in tropical reefs. The team has also documented changes in species such as urchins and kelp, and has studied deep water habitats along the continental shelf.  

“Our research is helping marine ecologists track changes in benthic habitats and document range shifts in key species associated with changing oceanographic conditions, as well as exploring marine archaeological sites and deep water geological zones,” he explained. 

“Oceanographic surveying is expanding rapidly thanks to the increasing endurance of marine robotic systems. Technology has developed to the point where there are now unmanned surface vessels that are capable of crossing oceans.”