Practice Autonomous Underwater Navigation With A Sea Turtle Robot

Inspired by the sea turtle, researchers from ETH Zurich research group developed an autonomous swimming robot, naro – tartaruga, which is scheduled to be launched into water this month. Similar to a sea turtle, naro – tartaruga must be really fast with the top speed of two meters (6.6 feet) per second and nearly one meter (3.3 feet) long body. The robot will feature excellent maneuvering capabilities, with its two front flippers being able to move independently – each fin is controlled by three actuators, allowing for movement in three dimensions. The big domed shell on the aluminum-hulled robot will house pressure, temperature, water leakage and water flow sensors and other electronics, like gyros, surface GPS, a compass, and motor encoders. Naro – tartaruga will have an i7 dual core processor, a 48-volt lithium-polymer battery pack, and a BlueFox computer vision system. Depending on the robot’s intended use, interfaces at the head and tail will allow different modules to be swapped in. The current prototype can be operated by remote control, though naro – tartaruga has been mainly created to exercise autonomous underwater navigation.
Via:gizmag.com