What is the ARL?

The ARL is a laboratory within the Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) of the National University of Singapore (NUS). We, here at the ARL, conduct fundamental & applied research in underwater systems with a focus on tropical marine acoustics & sensing platforms. The ARL was first formed in 1996 as part of the physics department, later moved to the Engineering faculty, and eventually found its home in TMSI as a multidisciplinary laboratory.

For marine operations, acoustics is the natural tool for use underwater as sound can travel over several kilometers whereas other forms of energy are useful only at very short ranges. With this in mind, we concentrated on underwater acoustics research in the initial years. However, as we see the future of marine sensing in networked autonomous assets, we also conduct research in the areas of networked autonomous systems.

Our research programs are oriented towards providing an effective marine research capability for Singapore to fulfill its needs with respect to managing its marine resources and becoming the preeminent systems research laboratory in South East Asia. We also support affiliated marine research laboratories in their work where our expertise are required. The ARL is a somewhat unconventional research environment for NUS, in that we do very little undergraduate teaching, being 100% funded by research grants. We are success and goal oriented, rather than task and process oriented. We strive to empower researchers with a high degree of autonomy and an environment that nurtures creativity and innovation.