The experts have just created the first underwater robot named U-CAT. This turtle-shaped robot has very good movement.
U-Cat Robot Robot Safari exhibited at the Science Museum in London is designed such that it can go in and writhed in the wreck.
The principle of U-CAT mover robot is similar to sea turtles. Control four flippers automatically, making this robot dynamic maneuver. U-Cat can swim back and forth, up and down, and turn in all directions. The maneuver is a feature that is needed when checking a narrow space such as shipwrecks.
In the water, U-Cat robot carries onboard camera and video footage can also be used to reconstruct the underwater sites.
"U-CAT is specifically designed for users who want to identify the submarine. The fins on the U-CAT could drive the robot in any direction without stirring up the mud from the bottom of the water will decrease visibility," says Taavi Salumäe, a robot designer concept U- CAT and researchers from the Center Biorobotik at Tallinn University of Technology.
Underwater robot is now being used by the oil and gas industry as well as for maintaining sea defenses.
For the purposes of identification of the wreck, the robot is still too large and expensive. Today, the wreck is still being explored by divers. However, this dive was costly and time is not small. Procedure dives are also considered dangerous for divers. U-CAT was designed with the aim of offering an affordable alternative to human divers.
Robot U-CAT is part of a research project funding ARROWS European Union, which develops technologies to help underwater archaeologist. Technology from the ARROWS project will be tested in the Mediterranean Sea and the Baltic Sea, the two historic regions but different environment in Europe.
"In the project ARROWS, U-CAT will work closely with the project underwater robots larger and jointly develop image recognition technology for the discovery, identification and reconstruction of underwater sites," says Dr. Sebastiano Tusa, an underwater archaeologist from the Regional Government Sicily.
On the London Science Museum, featuring a team of robot U-CAT as well as an interactive model U -CAT movement operating in the aquarium.