Swimming robots break world distance record

2nd Quarter 2012 Robotics & Mechatronics

Four robots have set a new distance world record, swimming almost 6000 km across the Pacific Ocean. The robots are composed of two parts and propel themselves forward without any fuel.

Built by US firm Liquid Robotics, the PacX Wave Gliders are expected to cover over 16 000 km by their journey’s end. The first leg of their voyage from San Francisco to Hawaii took four months. The robots are designed to reach previously inaccessible areas of the ocean and gather data about the composition and quality of sea water and the shrinking size of fish stocks. The previous Guinness World Record for the longest distance covered at sea by an unmanned device was 4630 km.

The gliders were launched from San Francisco harbour on 17 November 2011. Each robot is composed of two halves: the upper part, shaped like a stunted surfboard, is attached by a cable to a lower part that sports a series of fins and a keel. To move they do not use fuel but instead convert energy from the ocean’s waves, turning it into forward thrust. Solar panels installed on the upper surface of the gliders power numerous sensors that take readings every 10 minutes to sample salinity, water temperature, weather, fluorescence, and dissolved oxygen.

After a short stopover in Hawaii, the quartet will split. Two drones will continue to Japan, crossing the Mariana Trench en route. The second pair will swim to Australia, passing the equator. Researchers expect both teams to reach their destinations by late 2012 or early 2013.

For more information visit http://liquidr.com/

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