The University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory has a sizable water tank. It doesn’t appear to be the birthplace of anything very important. Submerged equipment that is only partially visible beneath the surface, concrete walls, and industrial lighting. However, over a number of years, a small group of engineers worked in secret inside that tank to create something that would eventually catch the interest of governments across five continents.
BluHaptics is the company. It originated from research conducted in the Department of Electrical Engineering at UW, particularly from the doctoral work of Fredrik Rydén, whose algorithms were initially created for robotic surgery, enabling surgeons to operate remotely through a computer-controlled robot with more accuracy and less physical strain. It wasn’t immediately apparent, but someone in the lab had the idea that those same algorithms might function underwater. That gut feeling proved to be right.
BluHaptics created a control system for remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, which are robots placed in places where people are just not allowed. exploration for gas and oil. cleanup of biohazards. mining in the deep sea. research dives that are environmentally conscious. According to senior engineer Andy Stewart, the issue with current ROV systems was basically one of feel. Robotic arms were guided through video feeds by operators who were tactilely blind and lacked any physical sense of contact, proximity, or resistance. Errors were frequent. The pace of operations was slow.
Haptics, a feedback technology that provides a human operator with a sense of touch, was the answer. The haptic gadget works similarly to a three-dimensional mouse. The robotic arm moves when you move it. Importantly, though, the gadget also pushes back. It is resistant. The operator senses an impending collision in their hand before it occurs. “Haptics does for the sense of touch what computer graphics do for vision,” stated Howard Chizeck, chairman of BluHaptics’ board and co-director of UW’s BioRobotics Laboratory. Although that analogy is straightforward, it accurately depicts how the technology functions in real-world situations.
The system creates a virtual representation of the underwater environment in real time by combining sonar, video, and laser inputs. It’s more than just a remote control; it’s a type of sensory extension that projects human perception into an area that is inaccessible to the human body. According to Stewart, it combines a computer’s spatial awareness with an individual’s capacity for perception. There’s a feeling that this is precisely the kind of thing that seems obvious in hindsight but is incredibly challenging to actually construct.
The Puget Sound Business Journal named BluHaptics one of five UW startups to watch, which is the kind of local recognition that usually precedes either a quiet disappearance or something more intriguing. It was the latter in this instance. Originally tested in a university water tank against submersible equipment borrowed from the oil and gas industry, the company’s technology eventually made its way into operational use in several nations. The system has proven beneficial enough for government organizations and businesses involved in offshore energy, scientific monitoring, and underwater infrastructure to incorporate it into ongoing initiatives.
It’s worth stopping to consider how peculiar that trajectory is. The majority of university spinoffs with truly innovative technology spend years in proof-of-concept and pilot programs. BluHaptics also participated in the White House technology exposition, the SmartAmerica Challenge, and early partnerships with the UW Underwater Robotics Club. However, the fundamental technology—Rydén’s algorithms modified for the seafloor from surgery—proved resilient in a variety of settings. It doesn’t always work that way.
It’s still unclear if the business will be able to maintain that momentum as underwater robotics becomes more competitive. Well-funded ocean tech startups and larger defense contractors are entering the same market with different strategies and greater resources. However, BluHaptics created a product that is so effective that five nations currently depend on it. Replicating that is more difficult than it appears.
