????換句話說，Liquid Robotics公司可以通過部署類似漂浮式服務(wù)器群來處理由該地區(qū)其他“波浪滑翔機(jī)”收集的數(shù)據(jù)，然后僅向岸上客戶提供他們所需要的、經(jīng)過處理及精煉之后的數(shù)據(jù)——這些數(shù)據(jù)尤其受到石油和天然氣勘探公司的迅速接受?！境嗣绹鴩液Ｑ蠛痛髿夤芾砭趾兔绹＼娭?，Liquid Robotics公司的客戶名單中還包括斯倫貝謝（Schlumberger）和英國石油（BP）這樣的公司?！?/p>

????Liquid Robotics公司首席執(zhí)行官比爾?瓦斯說：“可以執(zhí)行這些任務(wù)的一艘海洋級(jí)載人船只在商業(yè)環(huán)境中的成本約為每天15萬美元。一艘海洋級(jí)研究船只的成本是每天約4萬美元，我們‘波浪滑翔機(jī)’自動(dòng)航海機(jī)器人做的是同種類型的數(shù)據(jù)收集——實(shí)際上通常是更為密集的數(shù)據(jù)收集，因?yàn)槲覀儭ɡ嘶铏C(jī)’的移動(dòng)速度更為緩慢——而成本卻只有載人船只的十分之一，而且我們?cè)趯?shí)施任務(wù)時(shí)不會(huì)造成污染，也不會(huì)讓人員處于危險(xiǎn)的境地之中?！?/p>

????瓦斯表示，目前Liquid Robotics公司在地球上每一個(gè)海洋里運(yùn)營著總計(jì)200部“波浪滑翔機(jī)”，較去年同期增長60%。到目前為止，該公司已向大約100家客戶提供過數(shù)據(jù)，而等到它目前這批“波浪滑翔機(jī)SV2”（大部分把原始數(shù)據(jù)源源不斷地發(fā)送回岸上進(jìn)行處理）得到更換、并且升級(jí)到具有隨載處理能力的“波浪滑翔機(jī)SV3”（新的“波浪滑翔機(jī)SV3”將在今年第三季度開始出貨，不過其大部分升級(jí)是對(duì)現(xiàn)有SV2的翻新）之后，Liquid Robotics公司向各大公司提供密集但又高度精煉的數(shù)據(jù)的能力很可能會(huì)成倍增強(qiáng)。瓦斯及其同事們預(yù)期未來全球各海洋到處可以看到“波浪滑翔機(jī)”，從而形成一個(gè)覆蓋地球70%地區(qū)的網(wǎng)絡(luò)，而這些地區(qū)到目前為止基本上尚未聯(lián)網(wǎng)。

????他補(bǔ)充說：“我們的客戶是任何轉(zhuǎn)向海洋或者從海洋中提取價(jià)值的公司，或者任何從事氣象相關(guān)業(yè)務(wù)的公司。”差不多囊括了一切與該價(jià)值定位密切相關(guān)的公司。不是所有公司都需要從遠(yuǎn)洋外源源不斷傳輸回高清晰度的數(shù)據(jù)流，但Liquid Robotics公司提供的這些數(shù)據(jù)可能造成的影響遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超出了其客戶群（試想任何依靠NOAA或國家氣象局來作出決定的公司或個(gè)人）。而直接需要這種數(shù)據(jù)的那些實(shí)體——無論是石油和天然氣公司、國家安全機(jī)構(gòu)或是或野生動(dòng)物管理、海洋研究人員或者國際航運(yùn)企業(yè)——以前從來無法獲得這些數(shù)據(jù)，至少規(guī)模沒有現(xiàn)在這么龐大。

????“十年前，我們這家公司可能會(huì)被視為僅存在于科幻小說之中，” 瓦斯說?！鞍阉羞@些技術(shù)結(jié)合在一起真的會(huì)改變這個(gè)世界?！保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：千牛絮、iDo98

????In other words, Liquid Robotics can deploy something like a floating server farm to process the data collected by other Wave Gliders in the area, then supply customers on shore with only the refined, processed data that they want -- something oil and gas exploration companies in particular have been quick to embrace. (Alongside the NOAA and U.S. Navy, Liquid Robotics' client list includes names like Schlumberger (SLB) and BP (BP).)

????"If you look at an ocean-rated crew vessel that can do this, it costs about $150,000 a day in a commercial environment," Vass says. "An ocean-rated research vessel is about $40,000 a day. We do the same kind of data collection -- usually denser data collection actually, because we move more slowly -- at about a tenth of that cost, and we don't pollute or put people at risk when we do it."

????Currently Liquid Robotics is operating 200 Wave Gliders at sea in every ocean on Earth, Vass says, a number that is growing 60% year over year. The company has provided data to about 100 customers thus far, and when its current fleet of SV2s -- which largely stream raw data back to shore for processing -- are replaced and upgraded with the SV3's onboard processing capability (the new SV3 begins shipping in Q3, though most of its upgrades are retrofittable to existing SV2s) Liquid Robotics' ability to provide companies with dense but highly refined data sets will likely grow exponentially. Vass and his colleagues envision a globe swimming with Wave Gliders, creating a mesh network that spans the 70% of the Earth that is, as yet, largely unwired.

????"Our customer is anyone who moves over the ocean or extracts value from it," Vass says. "Or anyone who deals with weather," he adds, more or less tying up what the company sees as its real value proposition. Not every company needs high-resolution data streaming in from far out at sea, but the data Liquid Robotics provides could have impacts far beyond its client base (think anyone who relies on NOAA or the National Weather Service to make decisions). And those entities that directly need this kind of data -- whether oil and gas outfits, national security agencies, or wildlife management, oceanographic researchers, or international shipping concerns -- have never been able to access it before. At least not like this.

????"Ten years ago this company would've been science fiction," Vass says. " Bringing all of this technology together is really going to change the world."