DEPLOYDatabase

Robot model

Wave Glider

The Wave Glider is a wave- and solar-powered persistent autonomous surface vehicle made by Liquid Robotics, a wholly-owned Boeing subsidiary, recorded in the…

Track Wave Glider
Manufacturer
Liquid Robotics
Form factor
maritime_surface
Maturity
commercial
Lifecycle
active
Deployments
1
Website
liquid-robotics.com ↗

Overview

The Wave Glider is a wave- and solar-powered persistent autonomous surface vehicle made by Liquid Robotics, a wholly-owned Boeing subsidiary, recorded in the maritime form factor with the entity scoped to the Wave Glider product and Liquid Robotics as the maker. It converts wave motion into forward thrust through a submerged sub-float tethered to a surface float and uses solar power for its payloads, giving it theoretically indefinite endurance for ocean data collection, maritime domain awareness, and scientific work across defense, commercial, and science customers. The registry confirms its active state: Liquid Robotics remains a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, acquired on December 6, 2016 and relocated to Herndon, Virginia in 2022, and is neither divested nor wound down, correcting an earlier possibly-divested hypothesis, while the Wave Glider remains an active product with a 2025 Boeing and Liquid Robotics memorandum of understanding with India's Sagar Defence Engineering to co-produce Wave Gliders and a Pune manufacturing facility inaugurated in December 2025. Its editorial throughline is the persistent-presence-via-energy-harvesting archetype, the second example in the cohort alongside the Ocius Bluebottle, with both wind, wave, and solar indefinite-endurance vessels, the Wave Glider carrying the deeper Pacific operational history and Ocius the newer Royal Australian Navy program entry. Specific current customer rosters and fleet counts are not enumerated given limited Boeing-subsidiary disclosure, the India co-production is a memorandum and a facility rather than a delivered-units figure, and any aggregator-quoted deployment totals should be treated as company-sourced.

Verified vs. claimed

Maturity stage
commercial(Commercially deployed with revenue-generating operations.)
Verified deployments
1 deployment on file
Sources on file
4 sources, view all

Key facts

Form factor

maritime autonomous surface vehicle (USV)

Power source

wave and solar powered

Endurance

theoretically indefinite

Maker

Liquid Robotics, a wholly-owned Boeing subsidiary

Maturity

commercial

Specs

Notes

Verified (entity scoping + active state): Liquid Robotics makes the Wave Glider; entity = the Wave Glider product/vessel, maker = Liquid Robotics (a Boeing company). It is STILL a wholly-owned Boeing subsidiary (Boeing Defense, Space & Security; acquired Dec 6 2016; relocated to Herndon VA 2022) - NOT divested or wound down (corrects the 'possibly divested' hypothesis). The Wave Glider is an ACTIVE product: a 2025 Boeing/Liquid Robotics MoU with India's Sagar Defence Engineering co-produces Wave Gliders, with a Dec 2025 Pune manufacturing facility. maturity=commercial., Editorial throughline (persistent-presence 2nd example): Persistent-presence-via-energy-harvesting archetype, the SECOND example alongside Ocius Bluebottle (Wave 2): both are wind/wave/solar indefinite-endurance USVs. Wave Glider has the deeper Pacific operational history (long-running ocean-science + naval deployments); Ocius is the newer, RAN-program entrant., Cap-flag: Specific current customer roster + fleet counts not enumerated here (Boeing-subsidiary disclosures are limited); the India co-production is an MoU + a facility, not a delivered-units figure. Treat any aggregator-quoted Wave-Glider deployment totals as company/marketing-sourced.

Specs

Wave Glider: wave + solar-powered persistent autonomous surface vehicle - converts wave motion to forward thrust (a submerged sub float + surface float) + solar for payload power, giving theoretically indefinite endurance for ocean data / maritime domain awareness (defense + commercial + science). Made by Liquid Robotics, a wholly-owned Boeing subsidiary (acquired Dec 6 2016; Herndon VA).

Runtime

1 year

Max speed

2 kt

Weight kg

90

Form Factor

maritime (autonomous SURFACE vessel / USV; wave + solar energy-harvesting; persistent presence)

Data & sources

Press releases

3

Web sources

1

4 sources backing this record.View all →

Pricing

No verified price is on record for Wave Glider. Physical-AI systems are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price.

How DEPLOY tracks pricing

Deployments (1)

  • Wave Glider at Honoluluoperational

    Liquid Robotics Wave Glider autonomous surface vehicles deployed by NOAA's Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) for marine ecosystem health assessment around the main Hawaiian Islands.

Wave Glider on the deployment map

Where Wave Glider is verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.

Recent activity

Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.

Full change history →

Deployment-verified media (1)

PRIMARY SOURCE
Courtesy of Liquid Robotics

Liquid Robotics' explainer of how its Wave Glider works: a two-part wave-propelled uncrewed surface vehicle (a surface float and a submerged glider) with solar-powered payloads. Autonomy here is long-endurance propulsion, navigation, and station-keeping; missions are tasked and supervised from a remote operations center.

From deployment: Honolulu

Supply chain (1)

Sensors

  • Teledyne TechnologiesTeledyne acoustic instruments -- ADCP ocean current profiler and multi-beam sonar payloadssupplies

Suppliers appear here when verified with at least two strong sources (maker-official / IR / regulatory / standards-body / verified tier-2). Sources are append-only; corrections add new sources rather than rewrite history.

Safety record

No incidents on record for Wave Glider.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Sources (4)

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_Robotics
  2. https://www.boeing.co.in/news/2025/liquid-robotics-and-sagar-defence-engineering-strengthen-maritim
  3. https://www.liquid-robotics.com/wave-glider/overview/
  4. https://www.comm-tec.com/prods/mfgs/LRI/Liquid_Robotics_Wave_Glider_Specs.pdf

Common questions

What is Wave Glider?
The Wave Glider is a wave- and solar-powered persistent autonomous surface vehicle made by Liquid Robotics, a wholly-owned Boeing subsidiary, recorded in the maritime form factor with the entity scoped to the Wave Glider product and Liquid Robotics as the maker. It converts wave motion into forward thrust through a submerged sub-float tethered to a surface float and uses solar power for its payloads, giving it theoretically indefinite endurance for ocean data collection, maritime domain awareness, and scientific work across defense, commercial, and science customers. The registry confirms its active state: Liquid Robotics remains a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, acquired on December 6, 2016 and relocated to Herndon, Virginia in 2022, and is neither divested nor wound down, correcting an earlier possibly-divested hypothesis, while the Wave Glider remains an active product with a 2025 Boeing and Liquid Robotics memorandum of understanding with India's Sagar Defence Engineering to co-produce Wave Gliders and a Pune manufacturing facility inaugurated in December 2025. Its editorial throughline is the persistent-presence-via-energy-harvesting archetype, the second example in the cohort alongside the Ocius Bluebottle, with both wind, wave, and solar indefinite-endurance vessels, the Wave Glider carrying the deeper Pacific operational history and Ocius the newer Royal Australian Navy program entry. Specific current customer rosters and fleet counts are not enumerated given limited Boeing-subsidiary disclosure, the India co-production is a memorandum and a facility rather than a delivered-units figure, and any aggregator-quoted deployment totals should be treated as company-sourced.
How much does Wave Glider cost?
Wave Glider's price is not publicly disclosed. DEPLOY has no verified price on record for Wave Glider from Liquid Robotics. Physical-AI systems like this are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price; check the manufacturer for the latest.
Is Wave Glider actually deployed in the real world?
Yes. Wave Glider is independently verified in real-world operation on the DEPLOY registry, confirmed at named deployment sites with primary sources: not a concept, render, or demo-only.
What are the specs of Wave Glider?
Wave Glider's recorded specifications on the DEPLOY registry: Runtime: 1 year; Max speed: 2 kt; Weight: 90 kg. See the Specs section for the full sourced set.
Who makes Wave Glider?
Wave Glider is made by Liquid Robotics, based in Sunnyvale, California, USA, founded in 2007.
Methodology: Verified · 4 sources (3 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-15

Verification posture

Verified

High confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-15

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: commercial

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: maritime_surface

Sources by quality tier

3
primary-company-ir
Company IR disclosure
1
knowledge-base
Knowledge base

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Wave Glider.

Recent coverage

Wave Glider in third-party press

Boeing Sends Liquid Robots to Defend Japan - The Motley Fool

Mar 7, 2026

A Little Robot Survives A Battle With Hurricane Sandy - IEEE Spectrum

Jul 30, 2021

Innovative ocean robot sets its microscopic sights on a global problem - Boeing

Apr 27, 2021