On Dec 2, the first Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Marine Underwater Robot Application Challenge kicks off at the Zhuhai Planning Exhibition Hall. [Photo/WeChat account: zhxiangzhou]

On Dec 2, the first Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Marine Underwater Robot Application Challenge kicked off at the Zhuhai Planning Exhibition Hall. This competition is China's first underwater robot contest using a real marine ranch as its arena. It aims to accelerate the development of marine exploitation scenarios and establish a source for deep-sea technological innovation and industrial innovation.

As the core carrier of the "blue granary", marine ranches are becoming a significant engine for the high-quality development of China's marine economy. However, frequent extreme weather events like typhoons cause severe issues such as net cage damage, facility scattering, and aquaculture stock escape. Traditional manual inspection and repair methods are inefficient, high-risk, and costly, severely constraining the sustainable development of the industry.

Confronting this real-world challenge head-on, the competition is centered on application orientation and scenario traction. It designs contest topics around the entire chain of "prevention before events — post-disaster restoration", aiming to solve pain points in marine ranch operations through technological innovation. By "promoting application through competition", it seeks to accelerate the transition of underwater robot technology from the laboratory to industrialization.

The competition, in collaboration with several leading marine ranch enterprises in Zhuhai, jointly released the "Marine Underwater Robot Application Scenario Opportunity List". It covers specific operational needs such as net cage inspection, ecological monitoring, and catch harvesting, with the total scenario value reaching 15 million yuan ($2.11 million). These real demands from the frontlines of industry will provide participating teams with precise R&D directions and pathways to industrialization.

Furthermore, the competition has established supporting measures, including "achievement transformation matchmaking", "investment and financing services", and "park settlement and entry", to propel outstanding projects from the competition arena to the market, realizing the closed loop of technology, product, and industry.

The final is scheduled to be held in Zhuhai on March 26, 2026. It is expected to attract dozens of top domestic and international teams to compete for the technological pinnacle, promoting the establishment of a new paradigm for marine ranch development and protection characterized by "technology-driven, finance-supported, and efficient restoration".