Arena ‘gets down’ with Papa Mau—a world record holder.

We’re always excited by stories of innovative product development. Even more so when an Arena customer sets a world record. Last November, we proudly joined Arena customer Liquid Robotics at the launch of PacX, their mission to send four robots across the Pacific Ocean—the longest distance at sea completed by an unmanned marine vehicle. Ever.

Our update in January introduced the four robots, and described their missions. The four Wave Glider robots use an innovative wave-propulsion system as well as solar panels to power onboard computers. Real-time Sensors send high-resolution data back to Liquid Robotics for distribution to scientists seeking to understand more about the unexplored vastness of our oceans.

We are thrilled to share the latest from our intrepid robot friends—last week, the first of the robots, “Papa Mau”, completed its journey.

The record-setting ocean crossing is an incredible story on its own, but the larger story of Liquid Robotics is even more interesting. The company, founded in 2007, is the first global ocean robot data services company. This means it can provide customers with either their own robot data collectors or simply a subscription feed of data collected by the Wave Gliders. This new model for ocean research is a true innovation, and the historic crossing bolsters the company’s reputation for both innovation and reliability. “This has been a technology where people haven’t believed it could do what we say it could,” says Graham Hine, Liquid Robotics’ senior vice president of product management in an interview with Forbes, “So for this little robot to survive for thousands of miles for a year is a tremendous credibility jump for us.”

These are our favorite kind of customer stories. Moments where the little guy triumphs in unexpected ways. If you’ve used Arena to create a triumphant prototype or launched your product with a world record, we’d love to hear from you!