Independent Robotics Showcases Innovation at ICRA 2025

Independent Robotics was proud to attend the 2025 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Atlanta, Georgia. As one of the only marine robotics companies at the event, we joined thousands of researchers and industry leaders to explore the future of intelligent systems and autonomous platforms.

Throughout the week, our team showcased Aqua2, our autonomous underwater vehicle designed for reliable, low-disturbance inspection missions. We also featured the Sonoptix ECHO, a forward-looking, dual-frequency sonar now integrated into Aqua2 with a custom ROS2 driver that delivers real-time imaging and obstacle detection. The response from conference attendees was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting strong interest in modular perception systems for unstructured environments.

ICRA 2025 also marked the public debut of our newest hardware product, the SNS100 Duo, a revolutionary dual-antenna GNSS module with full depth rating. This compact and robust positioning system provides high-accuracy navigation for AUVs and ROVs in surface and near-surface operations, answering a long-standing need in the field robotics space.

Our CEO, Julian Ware, and CTO, Greg Dudek, both delivered presentations at the conference. They spoke on the evolution of our product ecosystem, including the Insight Engine, and shared recent research in grounded AI, focusing on how data-driven autonomy can adapt to real-world environments with minimal supervision.

The show floor featured a wide array of humanoids and walking robots, including platforms from Boston Dynamics, Unitree, and Ghost Robotics. Many continue to impress on locomotion, though practical deployment remains limited in scope.

Amidst the strong presence of terrestrial and aerial systems, it was encouraging to see continued advancements in marine and field robotics. While anecdotal, the level of innovation and real-world readiness on display suggested growing momentum in unstructured, off-road, and underwater environments.

ICRA continues to be a vital space for collaboration and exchange. Independent Robotics remains committed to bridging the gap between academic research and operational deployment, with a focus on making underwater robotics simpler, more capable, and more insightful than ever.