cluding the Cybersecurity Information
Sharing Act (CISA), the Cybersecurity
Enhancement Act of 2014, the Federal
Exchange Data Breach Notification Act
of 2015, and the National Cybersecurity
Protection Advancement Act of 2015.
However, these regulations do not specifically address computer-related industries such as Internet service providers (ISPs) and software companies (or
service companies such as social media
sites), and many of the regulations include vague language that leaves a significant amount of room for interpretation.
Opponents of additional regulatory activity argue that the personal
data that is most sensitive and in need
of regulatory protection is already
protected by regulations such as the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which provides for data privacy and security of
individuals’ medical information.
Furthermore, getting additional,
specific data handling, privacy, and
security regulations that will work in a
global economy may be challenging to
implement, as well as costly and some-
what difficult to enforce. Many modern-
day business services, such as social
media sites, are global in nature, and
it can be difficult to determine the ap-
plicable jurisdiction (for example, if a
South African citizen purchases goods
from a French-domiciled company via
the Facebook platform, and the ship-
ment of such goods comes from China,
which data laws take precedence?).
Additionally, technology companies whose business models are primarily based around monetizing personal data, either directly for sales and
marketing purposes, or indirectly by
offering access to or selling that data
to others, are generally not in favor of
regulation that will prescribe how they
collect, use, and store data. The argument most commonly summoned by
regulatory opponents is that regulation tends to stifle innovation by limiting the creative ways in which data can
be used, as well as by increasing compliance costs through requirements
for enhanced and more frequent data
updating, recordkeeping, and notification of data security breaches.
However, any regulation that limits how a business can capture and
use personal data is likely to negatively impact a business that currently relies on relatively unfettered
access to and use of that data.
Despite some opposition by technology companies, regulatory progress is being made. The European
Union (EU) enacted in 2018 the Gen-
Getting additional,
specific data
handling, privacy,
and security
regulations that work
in a global economy
may be challenging
to implement and
costly to enforce.
Understanding what lies
beneath the surface of the sea
has always been a formidable
challenge. Visibility is terrible,
moving can be difficult, and
the ambient pressures become
deadly with depth. Although
submarines and modern
equipment can peer beneath
the surface, the world’s oceans
remain mysterious places that
have not been fully explored.
That is beginning to change,
however. Autonomous underwater
vehicles (AUVs)—known as
underwater drones—are quietly
reshaping oceanographic research.
“These robotic systems allow
researchers to gather data in ways
that were difficult or impossible
in the past. They are force
multipliers,” says Vicki Ferrini, a
research scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at
Columbia University.
Equipped with sensors,
sophisticated propulsion
systems, and advanced software,
underwater drones are helping
researchers map the sea floor,
understand currents, view dead
zones, conduct fish counts,
improve tsunami prediction,
and more. They also are aiding
in finding shipwrecks, building
windfarms, and accomplishing
tasks including inspecting deep-
sea oil platforms and nuclear
reactors in vessels.
Robotic technology is
reinventing underwater
exploration. Only about 15% of the
world’s oceans have been mapped
at a resolution of 100 meters—and
even most of these areas remain
largely unexplored. “Under water
drones provide continuous data
about the sea floor and they deliver
far greater resolution than we’ve
had in the past,” Ferrini says.
Autonomous underwater
drones are making their mark. A
high-profile example is Seabed
2030, a joint effort of two nonprofits
that aims to map the entire ocean
floor in just over a decade.
“The first step in better
protecting the oceans is to
have a better understanding of
them,” says Rochelle Wigley,
project director for the Nippon
Foundation GEBCO Project
Center for Coastal and Ocean
Mapping/Joint Hydrographic
Center of the University of New
Hampshire.
Because underwater drones
can’t communicate as freely
with the cloud and other
computing systems for extended
periods, on-board navigation
and programming is critical,
says Nathan Michael, director
of Carnegie Mellon University’s
Resilient Intelligent Systems
Lab. “These systems require a
great deal of robotic perception
in order to have the level of
underwater autonomy needed.”
The type and positioning of the
sensors is critical for navigation
when GPS and communications
networks are not available.
Drones also require specialized
programming to find wrecks,
spot specific types of sea
life, and accomplish other
specialized tasks.
Wigley says internal
programming is a critical issue,
and researchers are constantly
looking for ways to build better
algorithms, software models,
The use of these drones will
undoubtedly grow in the coming
years. In July, an underwater
drone found the French
submarine Minerve, which
vanished off the southern coast
of France in 1968. The wreckage
was discovered at a depth of
nearly 2,500 meters, or 1. 5 miles.
The U.S. Navy has also developed
autonomous underwater vehicles
it plans to use for a variety of
purposes, including the waging
of war.
Concludes Ferrini, “We’re at a
turning point where the on-board
intelligence, sensing, navigation,
and software programming are
allowing underwater drones to
tackle sophisticated tasks.”
—Samuel Greengard is an
author and journalist based in West
Linn, OR, USA.
ACM News
Underwater Drones Make Waves