Acústica Marina was conceived in Valdivia, Chile, and has grown the practice of merging hydroacoustic and AI technology to create R&D solutions that provide answers to global problems that damage the balance of the the oceans’ biodiversity and protecting naval borders.
Among their services, they offer hydroacoustic evaluation for environmental impact studies (SEIA), detection and monitoring of marine fauna and also a system for monitoring, control, surveillance and alerts for detection of illegal activities.
A few years back, the startup won first place in the open innovation contest led by the Chilean Navy called “Desafío Avante 2020”, with a project that involved the use of AI in hydroacoustics for the detection of illegal vessels. This not only included whaling or illegal fishing, but also drug traffic and other illicit behavior.
The work of Marine Acoustics led to its Founder and CEO, Marcela Ruiz, being recognized for innovative work in awards that seek to close the gender gap in the technology industry by recognizing outstanding women around the world who innovates, inspires and transforms the private sector of marine biology as we know it.