Robots are the new explorers of the big wet blue. According to a article from MSNBC, robots have been filling oceanographic gaps of knowledge of the seafloor. One of the newest robots described is Sentry which looks like “a miniature version of the starship Enterprise from Star Trek” and “ocean sunfish.”
This new robot, Sentry, is twice as fast compared to the old models. Sentry has a good combination of swimming and hovering prowess that aided in mapping the seafloor off the coast of Oregon.
The goal for the Oceans Observatories Initiative is to establish a sensor network in the ocean from Juan de Fuca tectonic plate around the Pacific Northwest coastline. The sensor network would have fiber-optic cables that would help monitor marine life, chemical reactions, tsunamis, earthquakes, hydrothermal vents and underwater volcanoes.
Link:
“Submersible robots explore the ocean’s depths” By Bryn Nelson
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26462687/
-Monica Sullivan
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Wow, this robot sounds like a go. I wonder how much it will cost to make one of these robots and how many they will be making.
This invention is great since the seafloor is constantly changing and marine life is sometimes needs to be closely watched in order to be studied.
The article states that Sentry has limited brain space and sometimes its memory may be an "a-minus" which may mean that with an AUV, an a-minus is a failing grade? If so, why even use Sentry if the information gathered is going to be inaccurate?
Ching
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