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U-CAT Robotic Sea Turtle Set To Explore Shipwrecks

Posted by samzenpus on from the dive-time dept.

Zothecula writes "When was the last time you heard about a sea turtle getting stuck in a shipwreck? Never, that's when. Although that's partly because stuck turtles rarely make the news, it's also due to the fact that they're relatively small and highly maneuverable. With that in mind, the European Union-funded ARROWS project has created U-CAT – a prototype robotic sunken-ship-exploring sea turtle."

23 comments

  1. Aaahhhh - it looks cute! by Chrisq · · Score: 1

    More like a bath toy than a research sub

    1. Re:Aaahhhh - it looks cute! by robthebloke · · Score: 3, Funny

      Hopefully when the tech has matured and mutated for 15 years or so, it'll be swimming in sewers. I imagine it will have developed a love of renaissance artists by them....

    2. Re:Aaahhhh - it looks cute! by weilawei · · Score: 2

      Technology for sewer monitoring is incredibly difficult. Active componentry, and even passive componentry tends to fail at an alarming rate due to being immersed in a chemical soup of practically arbitrary composition.

    3. Re:Aaahhhh - it looks cute! by nospam007 · · Score: 2

      "Technology for sewer monitoring is incredibly difficult. Active componentry, and even passive componentry tends to fail at an alarming rate due to being immersed in a chemical soup of practically arbitrary composition."

      Obviously they must be fixed on top of the sewer crocodiles.

    4. Re:Aaahhhh - it looks cute! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The first prototype naval battleships were like that too. They were circular rather than elongated, so they tended to spin around in strong currents.
      Now I can understand why real world turtles are flat and elliptical.

    5. Re:Aaahhhh - it looks cute! by camperdave · · Score: 1

      ... due to being immersed in a chemical soup of practically arbitrary composition.

      The sort of chemical soup that might, um... mutate.. a turtle in a sewer?

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  2. It's Turtles by weilawei · · Score: 5, Funny

    All the way down.

    1. Re:It's Turtles by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Soviet Ukraine,

      Turtles would have made good comrades for the Red-Navy Porpoises (Dolphins)....

      Now hevri-one thinks they belong under the banner of the jEUROCRAZY,
      maybe the "Union" can send peace-loving-humanitarian turtle-droids on the next freedom-flotilla....
      There is much history there (Alexandria-Gaza-Tantura-Sidon) which is being covered-up by the illegal israeli drilling and pipeline operations.

    2. Re:It's Turtles by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This time it's CAT turtles, though.

    3. Re:It's Turtles by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whatever happened to Flipper and Darwin?

      (it's too bad the actor that played Darwin's buddy died)

      Hopefully the dolphins of the world will do okay. Some days it seems like ground currents induced by solar activity are speeding oxidation of fertilizer and sh*t in the water, abruptly depleting oxygen the fishies need, and dumping surges of nitrous oxide into the air. That's not only the ugly brown of smog, but a very potent greenhouse gas. Could we have such an unexpected driver for bizzare wetlife deaths and environmental damage? Many cases are not explained, or not fully explained.

      Do some real science. Test the theory. Monitor ground currents. Monitor for surges in certain gases from water and damp soil. When ground currents are confirmed, people may be able to use the fish that float/wash up if done very promptly. Some Asian regions are using fish-kill already. If people knew about deaths from something non-toxic, there'd be less disproportionate blame on nasties in the water from Japan. That stuff is nasty, but let's only blame it for what it actually does.

  3. I for one .... by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

    I for one welcome ... ah, forget it.

  4. Tallinn mentioned by jones_supa · · Score: 0

    Hey, those guys are from Estonia! Greetings from Finland to our "little brother" (who is actually doing better than us).

  5. It won't work without some modifications.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Real sea turtles have their shell covering the working edges of their flippers - if stuck, they can pull them into/under the shell to clear them of obstructions.

    This thing will get stuck on any kind of vertical string - whether it be a kelp strand, or wire. And it can't pull its fins out of the way.

  6. Ha! by rotorbudd · · Score: 1

    When I first glanced at the title I saw : US Robotics.

    They gonna run a POTS line to the ocean floor?

    --
    A bullet may have your name on it, but artillery is addressed to " Whom It May concern"
  7. True of False? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Venus AND Mars are all right to-night.

  8. 4 Winged Jellyfish by SternisheFan · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Nature is so amazing, and continues to inspire us. For those who haven't seen the four winged jellyfish... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boxeUaFl3R8

  9. Just Curious by rmdingler · · Score: 1

    Has the anthropomorphization/zoomorphization of robotics aided the technology's development by taking advantage of evolutionary designs or has it been saddled with this rather human propensity to do so? Both?

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

  10. Captain Jack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Aye! Sea Turtles.

    (Someone had to do it)

  11. When? by Ralph+Spoilsport · · Score: 3, Interesting
    When was the last time you heard about a sea turtle getting stuck in a shipwreck? Never, that's when.

    When was the last time a sea turtle ever reported to a human that they were trapped in a shipwreck? Never, that's when, and that's why you've never heard about a sea turtle getting stuck in a shipwreck. It's not that it doesn't happen, its that it's never reported due do the fact that turtles and people don't speak the same language...

    --
    Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
  12. If they wanted to go deeper... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It seems they could reach almost unlimited depths if it was housed entirely
    in a flexible skin and permeated thoroughly with fluid.

  13. what by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    that is funny

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