Perpetual motion over the oceans in perfect silence with no helmsman seems like a stretch of the imagination at first sight, shades of the Marie Celeste, but the  autonomous maritime drone has become a reality with Liquid Robotic’s Wave Glider which has been successfully operated by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, Woods Hole and others to obtain oceanographic research data. Recently the California-based company, with a marine operations arm in Hawaii, announced it had gained a $22 million support investment from lead financier VantagePoint Capital Partners to work on the development of drones that may herald their deployment in diverse roles – naval warfare, customs and immigration surveillance, anti-terrorism, and anti-piracy.   Wave Glider – Photo: Liquid Robotics   Wave Glider Essentials   Current flagship  Wave Glider is just 2.08 meters in length with a mass of 90 kg, while below a much smaller ‘glider&rs...; [More]