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Our Story
In 2005, while while sitting at their kitchen table overlooking the shores of the Bay of Fundy, Mark Wood and Desiree Stockermans were tasked with an impossible mission: to create a hydrophone that could process large amounts of data in real-time, right where it was needed. Surprised that such a hydrophone didn’t exist, they decided to take on this impossible mission.
They worked hard, trying many ideas and designing countless prototypes. But they didn’t give up and their determination paid off when they stumbled upon a groundbreaking solution. They crafted a smart digital hydrophone that could process sounds at the source, compressing and reducing all the sound data that is sent to the surface, in real-time. It was a new and exciting concept that brought together artificial intelligence with instant recording capabilities.
With a working prototype in hand, they named the hydrophone “Big Ears” and shared it with the world. Just as people were starting to hear about this new hydrophone, Hurricane Dennis howled through the Gulf of Mexico, springing a leak in the BP Thunderhorse rig. The rig was the world’s largest semi-submersible oil platform at the time, responsible for servicing 1% of the total US oil production. “Big Ears” became the sole hydrophone capable of locating the leak, averting environmental disaster and saving countless jobs.
With this success in hand, Mark and Desiree started a new phase of their adventure: building a new market sector while continuing to spread awareness about their product. It was in 2012 when they eventually founded Ocean Sonics, a company dedicated to commercializing the smart digital hydrophone, now known as, the icListen.
Their vision for Ocean Sonics was built on the idea of giving the ocean a voice, and they do that by making products that are simple, accurate, and reliable. Ocean Sonics is a story that is a testament to the power of innovation, perseverance, and the belief that even the most impossible challenges could be overcome with determination and unconventional ingenuity.
