Swimming Robot Reaches Australia After Record-Breaking Trip

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Swimming Robot Reaches Australia After Record-Breaking Trip

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday December 5, 2012 @01:14PM from the sink-or-swim dept.

SternisheFan writes "A self-controlled swimming robot has completed a journey from San Francisco to Australia. The record-breaking 9,000 nautical mile (16,668km) trip took the PacX Wave Glider just over a year to achieve. Liquid Robotics, the U.S. company behind the project, collected data about the Pacific Ocean's temperature, salinity and ecosystem from the drone. The company said its success demonstrated that such technology could 'survive the high seas.' The robot is called Papa Mau in honor of the late Micronesian navigator Pius 'Mau' Piailug, who had a reputation for finding ways to navigate the seas without using traditional equipment. 'During Papa Mau's journey, [it] weathered gale-force storms, fended off sharks, spent more than 365 days at sea, skirted around the Great Barrier Reef, and finally battled and surfed the east Australian current to reach his final destination in Hervey Bay, near Bundaberg, Queensland,' the company said in a statement. Some of the data it gathered about the abundance of phytoplankton -plant-like organisms that convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and provide food for other sea life -could already be monitored by satellite. However, the company suggested that its equipment offered more detail, providing a useful tool for climate model scientists."

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not more boat people by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-05 13:22 · Score: 2, Funny

Not another illegal arrival from overseas, we get enough of those already!
Swimming is a new way to do it though, most use boats... :-)
1. Re:not more boat people by Lord_of_the_nerf · 2012-12-05 13:58 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Don't worry, it'll get through. They were smart and painted it white.
pronounciation by whitehatnetizen · 2012-12-05 13:32 · Score: 3, Informative

just FYI so that you non-aussies start hearing it wrong in your heads: Hervey bay is pronounced "Harvie" like "Barbie" but with a 'v'.
1. Re:pronounciation by PopeRatzo · 2012-12-05 13:49 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  just FYI so that you non-aussies start hearing it wrong in your heads: Hervey bay is pronounced "Harvie" like "Barbie" but with a 'v'.
  Thank you, but what makes you think "aussies" are pronouncing it correctly?
  I mean, it would be a first.
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
2. Re:pronounciation by Dipsomaniac · 2012-12-05 13:50 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  'Varbie'.
  Got it.
3. Re:pronounciation by Sussurros · 2012-12-05 13:53 · Score: 1, Offtopic
  
  Because we are. You can use the name and pronouce it any way you like when you use it.
  
  --
  I said - don't look Ethel!..., but it was too late..., she'd already looked.
4. Re:pronounciation by Chrisbie77 · 2012-12-05 13:58 · Score: 1, Interesting
  
  To be fully native, it's like "Hahvie Bye" - our vowels are "all jacked up" - as my American sheila tells me. Also they make rum in Bundaberg, lots of it - "Liquid Robotics" hmmm.. expect the robot back with a patch over one of it's sensors and a bottle of rum... and a parrot.
5. Re:pronounciation by Andhesaidtome · 2012-12-05 14:15 · Score: 1
  
  I wonder whether it landed closer to the Pialba (Pie-Al-Bah) end or the Urangan (You-Rang-Gan) end. 'Hervey Bay near Fraser Island, Queensland' would have been more descriptive then 'near Bundaberg'.
6. Re:pronounciation by Nostromo21 · 2012-12-05 14:22 · Score: 1
  
  Bundy is not rum. It is an abomination in the sight and taste of both god & man.
7. Re:pronounciation by ChunderDownunder · 2012-12-05 14:25 · Score: 2
  
  There are regional pronunciations of localities such as Jervis Bay, Launceston, Cairns, Lalor, Reservoir.
  Castlemaine, VIC and Newcastle, NSW both have 'Castle' in their name but are likely to be pronounced differently either side of the Murray.
  Then there's derby/darby, which is what the 'Hervey' debate is about. Many Aussies would pronounce it , "incorrectly", as Her-V
  Which is what happens when you name places after obscure 18thC British noblemen with non-phonetic names.
8. Re:pronounciation by dwywit · 2012-12-05 14:28 · Score: 1
  
  Can't think of Bundy Rum without thinking about Rich Hall's take on the stuff:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkH5_aGRC8g
  "'holy shit this is liquid crack, what the fuck are you lookin' at? Come over here and I will beat you like a drum"
  
  --
  They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
9. Re:pronounciation by Chrisbie77 · 2012-12-05 14:32 · Score: 1
  
  Yep, Oi am happy to admit it's us who cahn't spoik propahly. Howevah, being irresistable to American women just by speaking is fair compensation for the shame of Oi must enduah from such comments.. :-)
10. Re:pronounciation by Sussurros · 2012-12-05 14:33 · Score: 1
  
  We do have shrimp as well as prawns, it's just that while they're the same basic animal prawns can get really big, bigger than marron sometimes, and shrimps are necessarily small, about thumbnail size.
  
  We use a lot of food names differently, for example papaya are called pawpaw, which is apparently really a fruit indigenous to the Ozark Mountains and whose name we got from the gold miners from California who came to Victoria and New South Wales 150 years ago. And so because papayas are universally called pawpaw here the word papaya is used for a particular kind of "pawpaw".
  
  Two other common words the Yankee miners gave us are goanna (iguana) for the big local lizards and possum (opossum) for a similar and closely related critter.
  
  And just for the record, the word barbie comes from the US too, through the word barbacoa.
  
  --
  I said - don't look Ethel!..., but it was too late..., she'd already looked.
11. Re:pronounciation by Chrisbie77 · 2012-12-05 14:39 · Score: 1
  
  Their commercial with the Drop Bear (cough) more than makes up for that I reckon... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULEQpUY_crc
12. Re:pronounciation by AthanasiusKircher · 2012-12-05 14:47 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  'Varbie'.
  Got it.
  No, numbnuts... it's 'barbie' with a 'v'.
  I.e., 'bvrbie.'
13. Re:pronounciation by Sussurros · 2012-12-05 14:55 · Score: 1
  
  Bundaberg Rum is actually quite yummy once you get past its strong, er, personality. Drunk in excess however, and excess is significantly less than for other spirits, it will find the worst aspects of your personality and make you a slave to them for a while. The last time I drank it I punched my friend's father when I was Best man at his son's wedding. I strongly advise experimenting with it in a non-social setting if you feel you must experiment with it at all. There are plenty of deserted beaches that are quite suitable.
  
  --
  I said - don't look Ethel!..., but it was too late..., she'd already looked.
14. Re:pronounciation by gstoddart · 2012-12-05 14:57 · Score: 1
  
  Lucky bastard ... I don't suppose if I went to Australia women would suddenly find a Canadian irresistable (eh)?
  
  --
  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
15. Re:pronounciation by camperdave · 2012-12-05 15:21 · Score: 1
  
  Bundy is not rum. It is an abomination in the sight and taste of both god & man.
  Ah! So it's better than rum.
  
  --
  When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
16. Re:pronounciation by camperdave · 2012-12-05 15:25 · Score: 1
  
  I'd pronounce it "hair-vay" or "Her-vay" (rhyming with survey), or even "Her-vee" (rhyming with curvy), but I'd never get "Harvey" out of it.
  
  --
  When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
17. Re:pronounciation by Tankgirl28 · 2012-12-05 15:37 · Score: 1
  
  And look what happened. I had my keyboard set to upside-down and forgot to log in properly. You understand. ;p
18. Re:pronounciation by PopeRatzo · 2012-12-05 15:41 · Score: 1
  
  I don't suppose if I went to Australia women would suddenly find a Canadian irresistable (eh)?
  Are you kidding? Of course they'd find you irresistible. The common Australian accent is no easier on the ears of Australian women than it is on ours.
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
19. Re:pronounciation by Sussurros · 2012-12-05 15:42 · Score: 1
  
  A Canadian or Californian accent is a big plus in the romance stakes here in Australia. Regional accents from North America can be more help or less depnding on the accent. At a guess I'd say a Louisiana accent was the best and even a broad Brooklyn accent was some advantage. Naturally a lot depends on the packaging but any American accent wil help to get you laid in Australia.
  
  --
  I said - don't look Ethel!..., but it was too late..., she'd already looked.
20. Re:pronounciation by Cimexus · 2012-12-05 15:43 · Score: 1
  
  Nonetheless, 'Harvey' Bay it is.
  It's really quite common for place names not to be said the way they 'look', even when the same word/name/phoneme in other contexts, in the same language and dialect, is commonly pronounced a different way.
  And that is the case all over the world. Lots of examples in the UK obviously, but also in the US. Mobile, AL springs to mind. Or the state of Arkansas.
21. Re:pronounciation by Sussurros · 2012-12-05 16:00 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Do you have any evidence to support that? Anecdotal evidence is fine.
  
  In New Zealand they say that Australian women have the best sense of humour in the world and continually prove it by marrying Australian men.
  
  --
  I said - don't look Ethel!..., but it was too late..., she'd already looked.
22. Re:pronounciation by rHBa · 2012-12-05 16:03 · Score: 1
  
  battled and surfed the east Australian current to reach his final destination in Hervey Bay, near Bundaberg
  ? Many are the times that my final destination has been near Bundaberg, if I remember correctly?!?
23. Re:pronounciation by Alien+Being · 2012-12-05 16:05 · Score: 1
  
  Sure, but is it anywhere near near Tullamore, Seymour, Lismore, Maroochydore,
  Kilmore, Nambour, Moolimbah, Birdsville, Emmaville, Wallaville, Cundamunda,
  Cundabine, Strathpine, Prosapine, Ulladulla, Darwin, Gin Gin, Deniliquin, Muckadilla,
  Emmaville, Kullavilla, Moree, Taree, Jarildabee, Banbawa, Toowoomba, Gunnedah,
  Gurringbah, Woolloomooloo, Dalvin, Tambourin, Engadine, Jindabyne, Lithgow,
  Casino, Brigalow, Narabine, Megalong, Wyalong, Oolong, Orgathella, Morella,
  Indapella, Whyalla, Dandenong, Woodabong, Ballaratt, Canberra, Mildura,
  Unanderra, Captain’s Flat, Cloncurrie, River Murray, Kurri Kurri, Girrableen, Terrigal,
  Stockinbingal, Collaroy, Narrabeen, Bendigo, Darraglow, Bangalow, Indapirrie,
  Urabilli, Kirribilli or Wallumbilli?
24. Re:pronounciation by black6host · 2012-12-05 17:33 · Score: 1
  
  We do have shrimp as well as prawns, it's just that while they're the same basic animal prawns can get really big, bigger than marron sometimes, and shrimps are necessarily small, about thumbnail size.
  No wonder I don't feel very full after eating "Shrimp on the Barbie" here at Outback in the states :) They've been holding out on us, eating all the prawns themselves. Bastards!
25. Re:pronounciation by treeves · 2012-12-05 18:36 · Score: 1
  
  Who are aow-sees?
  
  --
  ...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
26. Re:pronounciation by Jafafa+Hots · 2012-12-05 19:46 · Score: 2
  
  At least it's not as bad as the UK, where you can have a town with a name that's written in eight syllables but pronounced in two.
  
  --
  This space available.
Gilligan... by billybob_jcv · 2012-12-05 13:48 · Score: 1, Funny

taught the robot to dog paddle....
Fended off sharks? by vantango · 2012-12-05 14:09 · Score: 1

How do it do this?
1. Re:Fended off sharks? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-05 14:19 · Score: 1
  
  frickin' lazers
2. Re:Fended off sharks? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-05 14:20 · Score: 1
  
  I was wondering the same thing, sounds like market/journalist/dumbass-speak. Sensationalism sells to morons.
3. Re:Fended off sharks? by loneDreamer · 2012-12-05 14:22 · Score: 2
  
  Mirrors, obviously. Everybody know the lasers are on the sharks...
So much for Australia.. by formfeed · 2012-12-05 14:45 · Score: 3, Funny

..as a good spot for a robot prison colony.
progress for whom? by harvey+the+nerd · 2012-12-05 14:53 · Score: 1

Did anyone check that white powder in the ballast?
Re:bloody immigrants by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-05 15:26 · Score: 1

STOP THE BOTS!
Re:bloody immigrants by Cimexus · 2012-12-05 15:46 · Score: 1

Hahaha, mod AC parent up...good one.
The "Humpty Dumpty defense". by TapeCutter · 2012-12-05 16:05 · Score: 2

I like that. It is the classiest way of saying 'I'll pronounce it however I want. Now fuck off.'
Technically that is known as the humpty dumpty defense. Having said that I'm also an Aussie and agree with the OP on the pronounciation of an Australian place name, because we are Aussies we may have local knowledge that you lack, so it would be unfair to classify the GP's post as a humpty dumpty defense.

A much better translation would be "Fuck off tourist".

--
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
Re:norcal or so cal? by Sussurros · 2012-12-05 16:12 · Score: 2

Santa Monica is the best Californian accent to have to get laid in Australia - some of the LA accents are all but incomprehensible here and the San Diego accent is "strange" - sorry that's the best word I have for it.

The best way to use the accent if you have it is to have their attention first without saying anything, wait a moment (half a second to a second - enough to let them make assumptions subconsciously) while looking at them with a smile that is probably better a grin than a cheesy smile. Then let let the smile spread to your eyes and say "Hi". Just like shooting fish in a barrel.

--
I said - don't look Ethel!..., but it was too late..., she'd already looked.
They wrote a song about Papa Mau by Kozz · 2012-12-05 16:30 · Score: 1

Of course, there was some other distracting lyrics about another woman named Elvira, too.
(if you didn't have to see the video to get that joke, you're getting gray like me!)

--
I only post comments when someone on the internet is wrong.
1. Re:They wrote a song about Papa Mau by Revotron · 2012-12-05 16:48 · Score: 1
  
  Wow, you are getting gray. :)
  
  I figure if the operator was a youngin' he probably wouldn't get the humor in labeling the speed dial "Giddy-up".
why no mention of the recording on the robot? by lakawak · 2012-12-05 16:36 · Score: 1

They didn't even mention the message that they found on a recorder in the robot. It said "I have been on a deserted island....the putt breaks to the right....Sweep back and forth, back and forth...I was stranded...This is the way we wash our clothes..." Apparently, it was supposed to say "I have been on a deserted island...with seven castaways of The Minnow. ..They are alive and well and...." but the dopey first mate put a rabbits foot into the robot for luck and it demagnetized the tape!
This is where James Gosling went by paramour · 2012-12-05 17:11 · Score: 5, Informative

James Gosling, of Java, Display Postscript, Gosling Emacs, and other fames is the chief software architect an Liquid Robotics.
Great little piece of technology by Animats · 2012-12-05 17:33 · Score: 5, Informative

This is another Liquid Robotics Wave Glider. It's a simple, clever propulsion idea, which is well-explained on the web site. The only powered mechanical part is a rudder. A GPS provides position, solar panels provide power for the electronics, and an Iridium satellite link provides command and control. It's about the size of a surfboard.
Performance is surprisingly good. Wave gliders have been sent from Hawaii to California, then up to Alaska and back. It can generally stay within 50 meters of the desired track. It's too small and light to hurt anything operating in open ocean. The Coast Guard classifies it as "floating debris", so it doesn't have to show lights.
It's also useful when you simply want to park an instrument package in one location. It's much easier than anchoring a buoy in deep water. They had one in Monterey Bay for months, making small circles to stay in one area.
1. Re:Great little piece of technology by bluefoxlucid · 2012-12-06 02:06 · Score: 1
  
  Funny enough it's called a "Swimming robot" but all I see is "toy boat with autopilot." A submarine and a steam ship are both swimming robots, too...
  
  --
  Support my political activism on Patreon.
2. Re:Great little piece of technology by GonzoPhysicist · 2012-12-06 07:05 · Score: 1
  
  This system doesn't have a propeller(screw) for propulsion, it is actually more of a swimming motion as its fins(tethered a few meters down) angle up or down as the wave action moves it up and down in the water. This is how it uses basically no power to move about.
  
  --
  horror vacui
not fully autonomous then? by queBurro · 2012-12-06 00:49 · Score: 1

"but one of them has suffered damage and has been diverted to Hawaii for repair" thus it can be remotely controlled?

--
sag
Re:norcal or so cal? by gstoddart · 2012-12-06 03:44 · Score: 1

*furiously takes notes* ;-)

--
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
just keep swimming by iiii · 2012-12-06 06:23 · Score: 1

Some sources are reporting that the whole way there the robot kept saying "P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney!!"

--
Light cup, beer drink, thin so chain, neck turtle fat, man I won't say it again