PBN 2025 INNOVATIVE COMPANIES
Manufacturing: Juice Robotics LLC
THE OCEAN CONTINUES to attract the curiosity of people, from its surface all the way down to its floor.
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Juice Robotics LLC, though, is taking a new cost-effective approach to researching the ocean.
The Narragansett-based company that operates out of the University of Rhode Island’s Ocean Technology and Innovation Center has developed a revolutionary approach to deep-ocean sensors that challenges traditional industry standards. Juice Robotics’ core innovation lies in its proprietary “potting” process, which encases electrical components in plastic rather than traditional thick metal housings.
This breakthrough enables Juice Robotics to manufacture lighting and video solutions capable of operating at depths up to 5,000 meters while being significantly smaller, lighter and less expensive than conventional alternatives. The technology represents a paradigm shift in how deep-sea equipment is designed and manufactured.
“This has huge implications because a small system like this could make the deep ocean accessible to whole new classes of deployment platforms such as unmanned boats and aircraft, or small manned craft,” Chief Technology Officer Matt Jewell said in the company’s awards application.
Juice Robotics is developing complementary deployment systems specifically tailored to its miniaturized sensors, creating an integrated solution that opens unprecedented possibilities for ocean exploration.
The company collaborates closely with Brennan Phillips’ Undersea Robotics and Imaging Lab at URI, producing the patented DEEPi camera system. Its work attracted significant support from the Rhode Island Science and Technology Council, URI Research Foundation, 401 Tech Bridge and industry partners such as Nautilus Defense, validating its innovative approach.
For customers, Juice Robotics’ technology dramatically reduces deployment costs and complexity while expanding operational possibilities. Scientists can now deploy sensors en masse using smaller, often unmanned platforms, multiplying research productivity. “Ships of opportunity” – fishing and shipping vessels – can contribute to scientific research without specialized equipment modifications, Jewell says.
(Editor’s note: This profile was written using an artificial intelligence program and supported by honoree nominations and applications. The material was reviewed, fact-checked and edited for style and accuracy by Providence Business News editorial staff.)
