Wave Gliders: http://www.liquid-robotics.com It's a wave-powered, autonomous sensor platform built for longevity at sea. We do things like monitor salinity in the arctic, circle oil platforms looking for leaks, track tagged mammals on migration, and do coordinated fleet maneuvers for ocean floor mapping and exploration.
Sadly not something you could kickstart.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_garbage_patch