If it wins, the team will build on the successful COTSbot platform to create the RangerBot, a low-cost, vision-enabled autonomous underwater vehicle.

“This project is about giving those looking after our coral reefs the tools they need to protect these precious resources,” the Foundation’s Managing Director, Anna Marsden, said.

“More than a billion people depend on reefs for their food and livelihood – they stand to lose the most if those important ecosystems are destroyed.

“We want to put the cost-effective, flexible RangerBot into the hands of the people at the front line of looking after and managing coral reefs, as extra ‘hands and eyes’ to manage those critical environments.”  

Dr Dunbabin said the RangerBot could also help map expansive underwater areas at scales not previously possible.

Unlike current single-purpose marine robots – which are manual, expensive and based on acoustic technologies, the RangerBot would use innovative vision-based technologies.  

“This represents a quantum technology leap in both marine robotics and reef protection – the only autonomous, affordable, multi-function solution for effectively detecting and addressing threats to coral reefs, making RangerBot widely available and accessible to reef communities worldwide,” Dr Dunbabin said.

“I guess you could call RangerBot the Swiss Army Knife of marine robotics.”

Ms Marsden said the RangerBot represented a wonderful opportunity  for the Great Barrier Reef, which has lost half its coral cover over the past 30 years.

“Even though the Great Barrier Reef is internationally acknowledged as the best managed reef globally, due to its size and complexity, effective management is a mammoth and expensive task,” she said.

“RangerBot has the potential to revolutionise the way we manage our oceans and may be a missing piece in the puzzle to save our precious reefs.”

The 10 Google Impact Challenge Australia finalists will present their projects to a panel of judges on Wednesday October 26, after which the winners will be announced.

They will be assessed on their impact, technology and innovation, scalability and feasibility.

One of those prizes is the $750,000 People’s Choice Award, for which the public can now vote online.

You can vote for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and RangerBot on the Google Impact Challenge website.