A new, patent-pending underwater robot developed at Purdue University’s College of Engineering could improve ocean research, underwater infrastructure inspection and search-and-rescue efforts by adapting to the needs of the mission in real time, acting as drifter, glider or thruster when necessary.
Yu She, assistant professor in the Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering, has developed underwater robot technology that can adapt how it moves during a mission.
“It changes how it moves depending on what the mission needs: to conserve energy, travel farther, follow currents, actively reposition or escape from a constrained region,” he said.
Yu She said a major challenge in underwater robotics is that different mission phases require different locomotion: passive drifting, buoyancy-driven gliding and thruster-driven propulsion. Each has strengths and drawbacks.
“Our technology integrates all three locomotion modes into a single compact underwater platform,” he said. “The robot chooses the appropriate mode depending on the mission requirement or environmental condition rather than being locked into one.”
Recent Comments