The robotic otter: Underwater robot that swims with flippers

From Mail Online (article)

Scientists have developed a remote-controlled robot that can receive and carry out commands while underwater.

AQUA is small and nimble, with flippers rather than propellers, and is designed for intricate data collection from shipwrecks and reefs.

The robot, designed by a team of universities from Canada, can be controlled wirelessly using a waterproof tablet computer.

While underwater, divers can program the tablet to display tags onscreen, similar to barcodes read by smartphones. The robot's on-board camera then scans these two-dimensional tags to receive and carry out commands.

Scroll down to see how the AQUA responds to the new controls.

Cutting the cord on underwater robots has been a longstanding challenge for scientists. Water interferes with radio signals, hindering traditional wireless communication via modem. Tethered communication is cumbersome and can create safety issues for divers.

'Having a robot tethered to a vehicle above water creates a scenario where communication between the diver, robot, and surface operator becomes quite complicated,' says Michael Jenkin, professor at York University’s Faculty of Science & Engineering

'Investigating a shipwreck, for example, is a very delicate operation and the diver and robot need to be able to react quickly to changes in the environment. An error or a lag in communication could be dangerous,' Jenkin says.

Realising there was no device on the market that fit the bill, Jenkin and his team at York's Centre for Vision Research, including the paper's lead author, MSc student Bart Verzijlenberg, set to work constructing a prototype.

The resulting device, fittingly dubbed AQUATablet, is watertight to a depth of 60 feet. Aluminum housing with a clear acrylic cover protects the tablet computer, which can be controlled by a diver using toggle-switches and on-screen prompts.

 

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