MIT sends robot beneath Arctic ice, transmits data at 1.2 KB per second

The Arctic sea is becoming noisier and harder to reach. Beneath its frozen surface, cracking ice, marine mammals and passing ships create a constantly changing underwater soundscape. For scientists trying to understand this remote environment, the challenge is not simply listening. It is finding ways to place sensors beneath the ice and retrieve their data without repeatedly sending people into dangerous conditions. According to a report published by MIT News, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, researchers from MIT Lincoln Laboratory are working on both problems. During the U.S. Navy's Operation Ice Camp 2026, the team tested a prototype communications system designed to send data through Arctic sea ice using magnetic fields. After drilling through 3.6 feet of ice, researchers lowered a remotely operated vehicle into the water and achieved through ice data transmission at approximately 1.2 kilobytes per second.