Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution · underwater vehicle
Nereus
A hybrid vehicle that could swim untethered in a free autonomous mode to survey the seafloor, or switch to a hair-thin fibre tether for remote control from the ship.
- Price
- —Research vehicle, not sold
- Autonomy
- SupervisedHow it runs
- Driverless
- In serviceSince 2009
- Fleet
- 1Reported; details below
- Speed
- —Not published
- Range
- —Not published
Why it matters
Reached the bottom of Challenger Deep (10,902 m) in May 2009, then the deepest-diving vehicle in operation.
Real-world use
Dived to Challenger Deep in 2009; lost on 10 May 2014 at about 9,900 m in the Kermadec Trench, apparently by implosion.
Timeline
- First shown
- 2009-05
- Released
- Not yet
Maker
Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionCompanyHow it drives
Fleet and city figures move fast; each carries its date and who reported it.
- Driverless status
- Driverless in service
- Where it runs
- Mariana Trench, Kermadec Trench
- Driverless since
- 2009
- Fleet
- 1 (lost 2014)
Public attention
A historic robot: no longer sold or in use, so it is not ranked against current vehicles.
- 3,683 views of its Wikipedia article in the last 90 days (Nereus (underwater vehicle))
- No recent press stories listed yet
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-14; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
No component details published yet.
- Movement
- Other movement
- How it runs
- Supervised. Works by itself while a person watches and steps in.
Lineage
Every Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution vehicle in order.
Made, sold and where
No production or sales figures published yet.
- Price
- Not publishedResearch vehicle, not sold
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
Sources
Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.
Photos and logos only identify each robot and its maker. Simbeing is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsing any company, and nothing here is advertising. Figures are for statistics only and are not advice of any kind. Terms of use