Autonomous undersea robot developed

Jul 19, 2005

University of Hawaii scientists say they are close to completing the nation's first autonomous robotic vehicle for deep-ocean work.

The $12 million battery-powered aluminum submersible is about the size of a sport utility vehicle. The robotic unit has computers and sensors that allow it to make a decision to perform a task and a 5-foot, 150-pound autonomous manipulator, or arm, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported Tuesday.

Song Choi, assistant dean of the university's College of Engineering, said 99 percent of the vehicle's system is autonomous. He said 1 percent is semiautonomous for safety, allowing a signal to be sent to the vehicle to stop and return.

The robotic undersea vehicle, designed to operate to a depth of about 4 miles, is about 90 percent completed. It will be able to go to a target automatically, and perform a task with no humans involved, Choi said.

"The ultimate goal is to leave it in the water, and it will come back when the batteries are down," said Choi, adding, "Safety-wise, it can't get better."

Copyright 2005 by United Press International

Explore further: US: NYU researchers took bribes from Chinese group

add to favorites email to friend print save as pdf

Related Stories

NASA rover prototype set to explore Greenland ice sheet

May 01, 2013

(Phys.org) —NASA's newest scientific rover is set for testing May 3 through June 8 in the highest part of Greenland. The robot known as GROVER, which stands for both Greenland Rover and Goddard Remotely ...

Locust's visual system inspiring new technology

Feb 21, 2013

The way in which the locust's distinctive visual system could be transferred into technology for state of the art vehicle collision sensors, surveilance technology and video games has been detailed as part of robotics research ...

Trident submarine robot successfully tested at sea

Apr 19, 2013

In its final assessment, the European project Trident has submerged its I-AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle for intervention) in the Port of Sóller (Mallorca). The vehicle has been able to find and retrieve ...

Recommended for you

US: NYU researchers took bribes from Chinese group

4 hours ago

Three New York University researchers from China divulged results from a U.S.-funded study to Chinese competitors in exchange for tuition, rent and other expenses, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Relaxed tourists share more

12 hours ago

Tourists set on relaxing and socialising when they reach their holiday destination tend to do little advance research on the internet before making their trip, but are more likely to share travel information and photos on ...

Tiny ancient bandicoot shines light on future

14 hours ago

(Phys.org) —A 20 million-year-old fossil skull identified as a 'pocket-sized' ancestor of the bandicoot will give insights into the future of Australia's modern endangered animals.

Daylight Saving Time spurs drop in crime rate

14 hours ago

(Phys.org) —Researchers are no longer in the dark about when criminals are most likely to attack. William & Mary economist Nicholas Sanders teamed up with the University of Virginia's Jennifer Doleac to study the connection ...

User comments : 0

More news stories

Tiny ancient bandicoot shines light on future

(Phys.org) —A 20 million-year-old fossil skull identified as a 'pocket-sized' ancestor of the bandicoot will give insights into the future of Australia's modern endangered animals.

Lab sets a new record for creating heralded photons

(Phys.org) —Entanglement, by general consensus of physicists, is the weirdest part of quantum science. To say that two particles, A and B, are entangled means that they are actually two parts of an inseparable ...

Protein study suggests drug side effects are inevitable

A new study of both computer-created and natural proteins suggests that the number of unique pockets – sites where small molecule pharmaceutical compounds can bind to proteins – is surprisingly small, meaning drug side ...