Development in technology aimed towards finding smuggled contraband continues with the creation of a robot that functions underwater.
The oval-shaped robot was created by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to detect drugs and weapons being smuggled on ships, according to Fox News.
The bot moves around on its flat side to perform ultrasound scans of the ship's hull, which gives the machine the ability to look at what the ship is holding, as well as find false hulls and propeller shafts commonly used by smugglers to hide drugs and weapons.
Another feature of the machine is its propulsion system, which adds stealth to the bot so it can perform tasks such as searching for contraband underwater. The researchers designed the section of the machine that holds the ultrasound panel and electronic parts to be waterproof. The bot's lithium-ion battery is located in this area, while the propulsion system is located on the absorbent side of the machine, Fox News reported.
Six pumps that eject water through water tubes are included in the robot's more pervious side. The research team arranged some of these tubes so that they vent at the rounded side of the bot so that the bot stays pressed against the side of its target. The other pumps vent out at either end of the machine, which helps the robot move forward and backward while underwater.
While the bot's battery can keep it charged for almost 40 minutes, the research team believes that making the propulsion system more effective will eventually allow the bot to stay underwater for 100 minutes before needing a recharge, Fox News reported.
The team said it ran tests on the robot and found that it has the ability to launch itself in a straight line while it monitored a ship's hull.
Sampriti Bhattacharyya, co-designer of the robot and mechanical engineering graduate at MIT, said using traditional robots for each small boat coming into a port costs a lot of money. Bhattacharyya added, however, that 3D printing is used to make the machine's structural components, thus making the robot much cheaper to use for port security. Fox News reported.
Nathan Betcher, a special-tactics officer in the U.S. Air Force, said MIT's underwater robot is attracting a lot of attention from military officials who believe the machine has potential to be used for additional purposes, including finding stress structures in hulls of ships and other vessels, as well as allowing maritime traffic to be directed and processed at a faster pace.
