Ideas worth spreading

How a fleet of wind-powered drones is changing our understanding of the ocean

1,778,180 views | Sebastien de Halleux • TEDxSanFrancisco

Our oceans are unexplored and undersampled -- today, we still know more about other planets than our own. How can we get to a better understanding of this vast, important ecosystem? Explorer Sebastien de Halleux shares how a new fleet of wind- and solar-powered drones is collecting data at sea in unprecedented detail, revealing insights into things like global weather and the health of fish stocks. Learn more about what a better grasp of the ocean could mean for us back on land.

Our oceans are unexplored and undersampled -- today, we still know more about other planets than our own. How can we get to a better understanding of this vast, important ecosystem? Explorer Sebastien de Halleux shares how a new fleet of wind- and solar-powered drones is collecting data at sea in unprecedented detail, revealing insights into things like global weather and the health of fish stocks. Learn more about what a better grasp of the ocean could mean for us back on land.

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxSanFrancisco, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Follow the Saildrones around the world and explore what we're up to.

Support ocean research and plan smarter with drone-powered weather insights from Saildrone Forecast.

Join the team. Explore open career opportunities at Saildrone headquarters in Alameda, California.

About the speaker

Sebastien de Halleux

Sebastien de Halleux

Entrepreneur, explorer

See speaker profile

Sebastien de Halleux is a technology entrepreneur with a lifelong passion for building impactful businesses.

Calvin W. Mordy et al. | Oceanography, 2017 | Article

"Advances in Ecosystem Research: Saildrone Surveys of Oceanography, Fish, and Marine Mammals in the Bering Sea"

Learn more about the Bering Sea ecosystem saildrone mission.

The Economist, 2018 | Article

"The Wired Seas"

Ashlee Vance | Bloomberg Business Week, 2018 | Article

"This Armada of Saildrones Could Conquer the Ocean"

Cody Sullivan | Climate.gov, 2018 | Article

"Adaptable and driven by renewable energy, saildrones voyage into remote waters"

Kevin M. Bailey | University of Chicago Press, 2013 | Book

Billion-Dollar Fish: The Untold Story of Alaska Pollock

A fascinating insight into the backstory of the Alaskan Pollock, the most lucrative fish in America. This book provides the economical and political context behind our switch from unbridled exploitation of ocean resources to the need for sustainable management and data-driven conservation.

Richard Henry Dana Jr. | Book

Two Years Before the Mast

Published in 1840, this American classic highlights the harshness of the ocean environment and helps illustrates the obstacles a saildrone has overcome in harnessing wind-power to travel by sea, all told in a beautifully written memoir of Richard's two-year sea voyage from Boston to California on a merchant ship.

| Watch

The Blue Planet

A seminal video series describing with amazing skills the beauty and mystery of our unexplored oceans.

About TEDx

TEDx was created in the spirit of TED's mission, "ideas worth spreading." It supports independent organizers who want to create a TED-like event in their own community.

Find a TEDx event near you

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxSanFrancisco, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Follow the Saildrones around the world and explore what we're up to.

Support ocean research and plan smarter with drone-powered weather insights from Saildrone Forecast.

Join the team. Explore open career opportunities at Saildrone headquarters in Alameda, California.