Why it’s Time for an Augmented-Reality Submarine

Patrick Flanagan
Aug 25, 2017 · 2 min read
Divers with the HOV Alvin (photo: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute)

If you’re watching the news or scrolling through your Facebook feed, the world can feel pretty absurd, overwhelming, and maybe even hopeless. It can be easy to forget that this is an amazing time to be alive.

Global poverty is at the lowest rate in all of human history. We have devices that fit in our pockets that give us equitable and instant access to the near-entirety of human knowledge. We can quickly and cheaply have face-to-face chats with family and friends on the other side of the planet. We have self-driving cars, flying robots, and people living in space.

But while we’ve created some powerful and exciting technology, we’ve also created bigger problems than we’ve ever faced before. We’re still grappling with profound socioeconomic inequality. Our society is becoming increasingly divided, and it’s getting harder to distinguish what’s true from what’s fake. And on top of all of this, we’re causing the climate and ocean to change, which will have dramatic effects on our civilization and all the living things we share this planet with.

With all of these challenges, how do we come together again so that we can understand, adapt to, and reduce the effects of climate change? How do we address our shared responsibility for things like ocean trash, overfishing, and pollution? How do we dissolve the things that divide us, and find hope and solutions together?

At OLLIE, we believe that we can make change together. Through conversations rather than lectures. Using data to guide our decisions. In immersive, collaborative environments that engage all the senses. We believe that we can use the power of technology to help people discover and explore the ocean, leading to transformative understanding of how we live with the sea.

Let’s reconnect with each other.
Let’s reconnect with the natural world.
Let’s explore together.


Learn more on the OLLIE blog.

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Patrick Flanagan

Written by

Founder and Director of OLLIE, the traveling augmented reality submarine.

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