The 32,000-square-foot Ocean Robotics Laboratory, supported by state funding, will strengthen URI's global leadership in ocean exploration. The facility will advance the design and development of technology-driven solutions, while fostering collaboration and innovation across the University, with partners, and through public-private partnerships.

The building features a two-story, high-bay staging area with a 4,500-cubic-foot freshwater test tank and a 10-ton bridge crane. Robotics and equipment developed in the lab will work alongside the new National Science Foundation Regional Class Research Vessel Narragansett Dawn, using its advanced launch-and-recovery systems to support scientific equipment at sea.