Robotics may be the new way to explore the ocean, as Stanford scientists have used a humanoid robotic diver to look at and recover lost treasures from King Louis XIV's wrecked flagship about 20 miles off the southern coast of France.
The robot itself is called OceanOne. It's outfitted with human vision, haptic force feedback and artificial intelligence. In other words, OceanOne can actually function as a virtual diver, handling delicate objects as it cruises beneath the waves.
More interesting, though, is how OceanOne handles object. The humanoid robot possesses haptic sensors that allow researchers on a nearby ship to actually "feel" what it is that it has picked up. This allows the robot to interact with seemingly delicate artifacts so as not to break them.
In the latest test of this robot, Oussama Khatib of Stanford University guided the robot toward the ship and had it gently lift a vase before putting it in a recovery basket nearby. Later, the researchers were able to see the priceless artifact onboard their shift.
"OceanOne will be your avatar," Khatib said. "The intent here is to have a human diving virtually, to put the human out of harm's way. Having a machine that has human characteristics that can project the human diver's embodiment at depth is going to be amazing."
The robot itself is about five feet long and has a head with stereoscopic vision that shows the pilot exactly what the robot sees. The robot also has two fully articulated arms and thrusters on its "tail" section, and the haptic controls that the robot has are so sensitive that the human piloting it can feel whether the robot is grasping something firm and heavy or light and delicate.
"You can feel exactly what the robot is doing," Khatib said. "It's almost like you are there; with the sense of touch you create a new dimension of perception."
The new findings could be huge when it comes to exploring oceanic depths where humans cannot venture. More specifically, it may be able to look at shipwrecks that have long been off limits to humans due to how dangerous they can be.
