Diving Robot 'Mermaid' Lends a Hand (or 2) to Ocean Exploration

In Mediterranean waters, off the coast of France,

a diver recently visited the shipwreck La Lune —

a vesssel in King Louis XIV's fleet — which lay

untouched and unexplored on the ocean bottom

since it sank in 1664. But the wreck's first

nonaquatic visitor in centuries wasn't human —

it was a robot.

Dubbed "OceanOne," the bright orange diving

robot resembles a mecha-mermaid. It measures

about 5 feet (1.5 meters) in length and has a

partly human form : a torso, a head — with

stereoscopic vision — and articulated arms. Its

lower section holds its computer "brain," a power

supply, and an array of eight multidirectional

thrusters.

Guided by a computer scientist from a boat,

using a set of joysticks, OceanOne combined

artificial intelligence , sensory feedback and

dexterous mechanical construction to perform

delicate tasks underwater, such as retrieving a

fragile artifact from the wreckage and placing it

in a box so it could be brought to the surface.

[In Images: A 'Robo-Mermaid' Embarks on Its

Maiden Dive]

A virtual diver

Remotely operated vehicles (ROV) are commonly

used in ocean exploration . But OceanOne's

creators designed a new kind of diving robot that

can not only investigate parts of the ocean that

are less accessible to people, but can do so with

the flexibility and dexterity of a human diver.

The engineers also created an interface that

allows a person to not only control the robot,

but to actually "feel" what the robot is touching,

using force sensors and haptic feedback in

OceanOne's articulated hands.

"The intent here is to have a human diving

virtually," said Oussama Khatib, who piloted

OceanOne on its La Lune visit. Khatib, a

professor of computer science at Stanford

University in California, explained in a statement

that the experience of guiding the robot is

almost like being the diver.

“You can feel exactly what the robot is doing,”

Khatib said.

OceanOne is also capable of interpreting and

responding to its environment autonomously,

detecting whether its hands-on work requires a

lighter touch and when it needs to adjust its

momentum to stay in place or change direction.

The team behind OceanOne conceived of the

robot as a means for studying Red Sea coral

reefs at depths that were inaccessible to a

human diver. OceanOne's flexible digits would

allow it to conduct underwater research —

manipulated by a scientist on the surface —

without damaging the reef or its inhabitants.