‘Robo-Mermaid’ Hunts for Sunken Treasure

When it comes to performing delicate operations, it’s hard to beat a pair of human hands. However, extreme environments aren’t exactly hands-on places.

When Stanford researchers were building a diving robot they decided to put two human-ish hands at the ends of its arms. And then, to further meld human with machine, they connected the robotic hands to a human counterpart on the surface. A range of haptic sensors provides near-instantaneous feedback to the operator about the weight of an object or how hard the grip is. The robot, called Ocean One, could be used for underwater excavations and conducting dangerous repairs on oil rigs.

Really, Ocean One’s services could be deployed anywhere a pair of (almost) human hands would come in … handy.

In Mediterranean waters, off the coast of France, a diver recently visited the shipwreck La Lune —  a vesssel in King Louis XIV's fleet — which lay untouched and unexplored on the ocean bottom since it sank in 1664. But the wreck's first nonaquatic visitor in centuries wasn't human — it was a robot.

Dubbed "OceanOne," the bright orange diving robot resembles a mecha-mermaid. It measures about 5 feet (1.5 meters) in length and has a partly human form: a torso, a head — with stereoscopic vision — and articulated arms. Its lower section holds its computer "brain," a power supply, and an array of eight multidirectional thrusters.

Guided by a computer scientist from a boat, using a set of joysticks, OceanOne combined artificial intelligence, sensory feedback and dexterous mechanical construction to perform delicate tasks underwater, such as retrieving a fragile artifact from the wreckage and placing it in a box so it could be brought to the surface. [In Images: A 'Robo-Mermaid' Embarks on Its Maiden Dive]

It’s All in the Hands

Researchers at Stanford University originally designed the anthropomorphic robot with coral reefs in mind, but its skills translate easily to treasure hunting.

Researchers studying the endangered ecosystems need to access depths that are beyond what’s safe for human divers, and conventional ROVs don’t have the sensitive touch and dexterity necessary to handle delicate corals. So, computer science professor Oussama Khatib and his team created a pair of articulated appendages modeled on human hands that provide detailed information about their environment. Not only can the hands safely manipulate delicate objects underwater, the haptic sensors make them feel like a natural extension of the human operator by relaying sensory information to the surface, where it gets replicated by the haptic interface.

OceanOne features a humanoid upper body complete with a head, torso and arms. Its lower body, or “tail”, is where the batteries, computer and thrusters are located. The head contains two cameras where you’d expect the robo-mermaid’s eyes to be, which allows for stereoscopic vision. A computer algorithm aids in navigation, and also regulates the robot’s grip to ensure it doesn’t smash or drop priceless archaeological artifacts.

Exploring a Lost Ship

Ocean One recently showed off its underwater chops when it swam through the sunken wreckage of a French warship called the La Lune. The ship was once the flagship of King Louis XIV, and entered Davy Jones’ Locker in 1664.

The site is too deep for human divers to reach and too constricted for submersibles to enter, but Ocean One navigated the treacherous site with ease, retrieving a small vase as proof of its success. Khatib even got a chance to show off the robot’s unique capabilities during the dive when Ocean One got stuck between two cannons — he brought the arms around and performed an underwater push-up to free the craft.

Robotic submersibles have probed the depths of the oceans for decades now, but the researchers say Ocean One’s articulated hands and haptic feedback sensors could help open up a range of new sites to explore.

A virtual diver

Remotely operated vehicles (ROV) are commonly used in ocean exploration. But OceanOne's creators designed a new kind of diving robot that can not only investigate parts of the ocean that are less accessible to people, but can do so with the flexibility and dexterity of a human diver.

The engineers also created an interface that allows a person to not only control the robot, but to actually "feel" what the robot is touching, using force sensors and haptic feedback in OceanOne's articulated hands.

"The intent here is to have a human diving virtually," said Oussama Khatib, who piloted OceanOne on its La Lune visit. Khatib, a professor of computer science at Stanford University in California, explained in a statement that the experience of guiding the robot is almost like being the diver.

“You can feel exactly what the robot is doing,” Khatib said.

OceanOne is also capable of interpreting and responding to its environment autonomously, detecting whether its hands-on work requires a lighter touch and when it needs to adjust its momentum to stay in place or change direction.

The team behind OceanOne conceived of the robot as a means for studying Red Sea coral reefs at depths that were inaccessible to a human diver. OceanOne's flexible digits would allow it to conduct underwater research — manipulated by a scientist on the surface — without damaging the reef or its inhabitants.

Diver down

For now, these groundbreaking robots — including OceanOne — are still one-of-a-kind protoypes. But OceanOne's engineers are eager to build more of these mechanical divers, in order to test their prototype's ability to work as part of a team of diving units.

Robotic divers would be a promising alternative for tackling underwater environments that might be too dangerous for humans, but the sensitivity of the computer interface would still allow a human "presence" during the dive that can't be achieved with traditional submersibles. The robots' manual dexterity would also enable these machines to perform tasks that formerly only people could carry out.

"The two bring together an amazing synergy," Khatib said in a statement. "The human and robot can do things in areas too dangerous for a human, while the human is still there."

Article by : Mindy Weisberger