Texas robotics company Houston Mechatronics has created the Aquanaut, an amazing autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV or submarine) that literally transforms itself into a humanoid-style robot. This robot serves a dexterous remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that responds to simple commands from a computer aboard a ship. The company is preparing Aquanaut for market usage with a plan to lower the cost of underwater research.
Aquanaut is a revolutionary multi-mode transforming all-electric undersea vehicle. The vehicle is capable of efficient long-distance transit and data collection in ‘AUV’ (autonomous underwater vehicle) mode. After transforming into ‘ROV’ (remotely operated vehicle) mode the head of the vehicle pitches up, the hull separates, and two arms are activated so that Aquanaut may manipulate its environment.
The Aquanaut was tested at the NASA Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory alongside a scale replica of the International Space Station.
via IEEE Spectrum
