In an age where food deliveries can be tracked in real time and handy AirTags can help locate your keys, it’s easy to assume that tracking ocean vehicles—whether AUVs, ROVs, USVs, drifting buoys, or deep-sea sensors—would be just as simple.
It’s not.
In fact, tracking and retrieving assets in the ocean remains one of the toughest technical challenges in ocean science and engineering.
Here are the main reasons why:
1. No Connectivity
Most modern tracking devices rely on cellular networks. Unfortunately, there are no cell towers in the middle of the ocean. Remote tracking is only possible through satellite communication systems like Iridium or Argos, which provide global coverage but come with their own limitations—including cost, bandwidth, and power consumption.
Some ocean vehicles use acoustic communication to track and monitor their position. However, acoustic systems only work over short ranges and rely on the host vessel’s power source—meaning that if the vehicle experiences a system failure, the acoustic communications can be lost as well.
2. The Ocean Is Unpredict
3. Designing Robust Trackers Is a Technical Challenge
Creating a tracker that:
- Can communicate via satellite networks like Iridium or Argos
- Is rugged enough to withstand deep-sea pressure
- Has a long battery life
- And is compact and lightweight enough not to interfere with the vehicle’s performance
…is a serious engineering challenge.
Devices must strike the right balance between durability, power efficiency, and size—no easy feat when the ocean can exert pressures exceeding 16,000 psi at depth and missions may last months without maintenance.
How Does Iridium Help in Tracking Ocean Vehicles?
As many researchers, scientists, and naval operators have found, the most reliable solution for long-range ocean tracking is independent satellite beacons—devices that operate separately from the AUV, ROV, or USV.
High-quality Iridium beacons, such as the Apollo X1 developed by Xeos, address many core challenges:
- Independent power supply with low-power sleep mode when submerged
- Continue operating even if the host vehicle fails
- Global, pole-to-pole Iridium satellite coverage
- Automatic surfacing alerts
- Designed to withstand extreme pressure and long-term deployments
The one drawback of Iridium is that it requires the beacon to be above the water’s surface to transmit. Satellite signals do not penetrate seawater, so no transmission occurs while the device is submerged.
Conclusion
Tracking scientific equipment in the ocean is a daunting task due to the unforgiving nature of the marine environment. While several solutions exist—such as Iridium, acoustic communication, or AIS—the ideal tracking method depends on the mission and application. For long-range, autonomous, or deep-sea operations, independent Iridium beacons remain one of the most reliable tools for ensuring successful recovery.
