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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."

4 of 23 comments (clear)

  1. It's Turtles by weilawei · · Score: 5, Funny

    All the way down.

  2. 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....

  3. 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.

  4. 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.