Research

Intraterrestrial

Research

Project CETI brings together artificial intelligence, natural language processing and complex systems experts, marine biologists, cryptographers, linguists, roboticists, engineers and underwater acousticians to decode the language of sperm whales – utilizing field robotics, recordings, and AI to uncover patterns of communication in the ocean.

Explore Research & Data

FEATURED RESEARCH

A Sperm Whale Is Born

Using high-resolution drone footage, computer vision, and multiscale network analysis, CETI devised an entirely new software package called Whale Tales to analyze and segment the footage featured here. Our vision is for Whale Tales to soon be available to the cetacean community at large.

SHOW ANNOTATIONS

Pre-birth

Birth

Collective Carrying

Dolphins & Pilot Whale Observation

Fin

Featured moments

Pre-birth gathering

Birth

Collective Carrying

Dolphins & Pilot Whale Observation

Fin

MEET THE FAMILY

Sperm whale Unit A is a close-knit social group that has been observed off Dominica for nearly three decades. The unit is made up of two matriarchal family lines, each tracing back to an older female whose descendants continue to travel, care, and raise young together. These enduring family bonds reveal the deep social structure that shapes sperm whale life.

Publications

FILTER

An Open-Source Bio-logger for Studying Cetacean Behavior and Communication

December 11, 2025

Recent advances in compute power and machine learning could then be applied to help extract insights into how marine animals interact with each other and how human activity affects these interactions. These, in turn, could inform sustainable paths forward for developing solutions that monitor, protect, and manage marine ecosystems.

PLOS One

WhAM: Towards A Translative Model of Sperm Whale Vocalization

December 2, 2025

Sperm whales communicate in short sequences of clicks known as codas. We present WhAM (Whale Acoustics Model), the first transformer-based model capable of generating synthetic sperm whale codas from any audio prompt.

NeurIPS 2025

Vowel and Diphthong-Like Spectral Patterns in Sperm Whale Codas

November 12, 2025

Sperm whale codas are on many levels analogous to human vowels and diphthongs and can be conceptualized in terms of the source-filter theory: vowel duration and pitch correspond to the number of clicks and their timing (traditional coda types), while spectral properties of clicks correspond to formants in human vowels.

OpenMind

Predicting Mesoscale Movement of Sperm Whale Units in the Caribbean Based on Social Dynamics

November 7, 2025

Using 20 years of photo-identification data, our team at Project CETI examined the sequential presence of social units for predictable patterns linked to social structure. Our findings provide quantitative evidence that sperm whale movements are socially coordinated and predictable, offering new insights into the spatial and social dynamics of sperm whale societies and highlighting the role of social affiliation in shaping large-scale movement patterns.

Scientific Reports

A Survey of Detection Techniques For Sperm Whale and Dolphin Echolocation Clicks

October 28, 2025

Echolocation clicks, emitted by Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) and Dolphins for foraging, echolocation and socialization, serve as bioindicators for monitoring marine ecosystems. Detecting click signals provides information on the abundance of species, their behavior and their responses to environmental changes.

Frontiers in Marine Science

Passive Vacuum Regeneration for Suction-Based Marine Adhesion Devices

September 20, 2025

Marine data collection devices, such as audio recording tags for marine mammals, must robustly adhere to the skin of the animal using noninvasive attachment mechanisms. This study introduces a novel passive vacuum regeneration system for suction cups, powered by changes in pressure as the whale dives, to extend tag attachment time.

IEEE

Source Separation of Sperm Whales' Echolocation Clicks

August 25, 2025

In this paper, scientists at Project CETI present a novel three-stage source separation algorithm that utilizes both temporal and spectral click attributes as well as spatial information derived from the arrival time delays between direct and reflected click paths. The algorithm separates clicks by first identifying click sequences in short time windows using MAP (Maximum a Posteriori) estimates, i.e. determining the most probable sequences from a series of measured clicks.

IEEE

Drone-Based Application of Whale tags: A “Tap-and-Go” Approach For Scientific Animal-borne Investigations

August 13, 2025

Deploying animal-borne suction-based tag devices on whales has been one of the primary tools used by researchers over the past several decades to gather high-resolution scientific information. In this paper, our team at Project CETI explore an approach to apply animal-borne suction-based tag devices using customized First Person View (FPV) racing drones.

PLOS

FEATURED OPEN SOURCE DATA

Technology for Whale-Listening

CETI’s whale tag is an open-source tool that records sperm whale codas and dive patterns, allowing scientists to study their communication and behavior in unprecedented detail. By sharing this data openly, CETI is democratizing gentle technology that deepens our understanding of—and connection to—the natural world."

Calibrating and preparing for deployment. The tag’s sensors synchronize while it awaits attachment, ready to record the next dive.

How CETI Research Works

Monitor

Field teams and autonomous tools record the daily lives of whales through audio, video, and behavioral observation.

Process

Data is synchronized, annotated, and organized to connect what whales do with what they say.

Train

Machine learning models begin decoding patterns across thousands of recordings, linking communication to behavior.

Validate

Insights are tested and refined through playback and peer-reviewed collaboration, moving us closer to understanding another species’ language.

Understanding Communication Beneath the Waves

Explore short animated explainers that visualize CETI’s scientific process — from recording field data to decoding whale communication through AI. This collection of animations brings the research to life in an accessible way for scientists, educators, and curious minds alike.

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