Advanced scientific underwater robot

University of Washington recently developed a robot that can dive to a depth of 5000 meters in the ocean, has been completed successfully by scientists and engineers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of Washington.

Sentry is a pioneering underwater robot which can swim in an independent manner, without wires or other connections to a research ship.

The autonomous underwater vehicle, is preprogrammed with instructions for exploration in deep waters, but also can make its own decisions about navigation on the ocean floor.

In the near future, Sentry conducted oceanographic explorations of high resolution that would otherwise be impossible.

Thanks to Sentry, have been prepared and more accurate maps to date of the Hydrate Ridge and the Axial Volcano, regions of the seabed off the coast of Oregon and Washington.

"We are changing the way that makes ocean science, launching a new era in which a set of technologies provide us with a growing capacity to explore the oceans and interact with them," says John Delaney, chief scientist of the expedition.

The robot can collect the necessary data to make maps of the seabed with a resolution of up to less than one meter.

Powered by more than a thousand lithium-ion batteries similar to those used in laptops, but adapted to extreme pressures, Sentry diving for about 18 hours and traveling 58 kilometers and can make longer trips in the future.

Sentry is designed to swim through the water like a fish or float in it as a way comparable to what makes a helicopter in the air. The ingenious design allows the vehicle hydrodynamic descend quickly from the ocean surface to depths (about 3,500 meters per minute). The novel also gives the vehicle a high stability and a remarkable balance while crossing through the flow of deep water.

The robot has built-in thrusters fins, or wings. As an airplane, the wings allow it to gain lift entrainment or time or directional, as required.

When needed, the robot can also float on the bottom without moving horizontally, to conduct inspections closely, make decisions navigation, or to rise or fall before marine rugged terrain.