Kinda like this, but lose the human. (credit: Expedition to the Deep Slope/NOAA/OER)

XPRIZE has tempted people to accomplish tasks ranging from putting stuff on the Moon to measuring pH in the deep ocean by using the promise of a sweet cash prize. At the annual American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco on Monday, XPRIZE announced a new competition that is more Jacques Cousteau than Neil Armstrong. This time, they want teams to build a better autonomous submersible that can help with ocean exploration and science.

Shell is putting up $ 6 million for teams that win based on the criteria of autonomy, speed, and depth. The three-year competition will include two rounds of tests culminating in a challenge to map at least 250 square kilometers of seafloor at high resolution in just 15 hours. That seafloor will reach a depth of 4,000 meters, and the vehicles will be expected to grab some high quality imagery. XPRIZE also wants vehicles that can be launched from shore or from the air rather than requiring the expensive presence of a research vessel for operation.

In addition, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is throwing in $ 1 million for a separate skill—the ability to track chemical or biological signals. That organization would like to see a vehicle that could sniff out and locate a hydrothermal vent on its own, for example.