Cross-disciplinary Technology Innovation for Advancing the Blue Economy

This chapter examines cross-disciplinary innovation in subsea robotics as a catalyst for blue economy advancement. It discusses the blue economy as sustainable ocean resource use balancing growth with ecosystem health amid challenges like climate change, IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing, and governance gaps. Highlighting interdisciplinary needs across science, engineering, and policy, it focuses on subsea robotics’ evolution from tethered ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) plagued by communication, energy, and emission issues to untethered AI systems. Nauticus Robotics, founded by NASA veterans, adapts space principles like layered autonomy and acoustic networking for hybrid ROV-AUV (autonomous underwater vehicles) platforms, enabling 50+ nautical mile missions, 90%+ CO 2 cuts, and 50% fewer personnel. Innovations include electric manipulators, supervised autonomy software, and RaaS (robotics as a service) models, yielding 80% cost savings compared to standard ROV-based IMR (inspection, maintenance and review) tasks. The narrative proves systems-thinking operationalizes SDG 14, transforming subsea operations into scalable, dual economic-environmental solutions for 2030 blue growth.