Finally an independent robotic device that can roam around underwater!
The specs:
Name: The robot is called Cyro.
Weight: 170 pounds.
Size: approximately 5 and half feet wide.
Cost: it is reported to be a 5 million dollar project (funded by the Navy)
Who is involved?
The US Naval Undersea Warfare Center and the Office of Naval research are the funding behind the project.
A team of (multi-university) researchers based at Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering are the brains behind the project.
The goal/purpose of the project:
The Navy wants-a self powering autonomous robot to be used for underwater surveillance.
The egghead’s interest: to engineer something that looks, moves, and gives the impression of an animal-like creature.
More about Cyro:
-The name comes from the jellyfish Cyanea Capillata.
-The robot has eight arms that are made from aluminum.
-The covering is a flexible silicone material that works in a wing-like manner for locomotion through the water.
-It actually moves through the water similar to a jellyfish, so that it looks like a giant jellyfish.
-the brain is in the mid part of the legs, where the center is.
-the battery it runs on is rechargeable and will run for around 4 hours.
Ideas and improvements in mind:
-the robot jelly fish is still in the prototype phase. Some improvements that the researchers have in mind would make it work for efficiently. The desire is for the robot to be able to stay underwater for months as opposed to just hours. They are looking into using what is available in the ocean to be used as fuel. Basically they are trying to get this robot to digest nutrients through microbial fuel cells. So not only does the thing move like and animal, they want it to eat for energy like a live creature as well.
