Remotely controlling underwater vehicles with a joystick can be quite a chore. That's why researchers developed an underwater robot that can autonomously take samples of the ocean floor.
To this end, a team from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) recently developed automated planning software based on artificial intelligence that controls underwater vehicles. Recently, the technology was used on an existing WHOI vessel.
When the vessel went to explore the undersea volcano Kolumbo off the coast of the Greek island of Santorini, the new system could decide which locations it would visit and then take samples at those locations. A command was issued from the University of Michigan to take very precise samples with a hose attached to the robotic arm. Having a vessel take samples without human intervention is a huge step forward.
The system was developed by NASA's Planetary Science and Technology from Analog Research programme. It could one day also be used to explore oceans on other planets. Before then, the team is continuing to work on an interface that suffices with spoken language so that scientists can communicate directly with autonomous underwater robots. Further work is also underway on getting several underwater robots to work together as one joint fleet.
