Researchers from the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology have built a giant robot called the Crabster. Designed after the appearance of a crab, the 14 hundred pound robot that is about the size of a Smartcar, will be used to investigate sunken wreckage of ships on the floor of the ocean.
Researchers from the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology have built a giant robot called the Crabster.
Designed after the appearance of a crab, the 14 hundred pound robot that is about the size of a Smartcar, will be used to investigate the sunken wreckage of ships on the ocean floor.
Underwater vehicles that use a propeller can sometimes have difficulty in strong underwater currents, and the propellers also decrease visibility by stirring up sediment from the ocean floor, so the researchers set out to solve these problems.
The Crabster is specially built to withstand the strongest underwater currents, with its six legs, including two more jointed front arms for picking up objects to be brought back to the surface.
The robot also has ten optical cameras and sonar that can scan up to 650 feet away.
It can reportedly stay underwater for over 24 hours if it is connected to an external power cord, but researchers want to have a wireless version of the Crabster in the future.
Researchers will start putting the robot to the test next month when it is lowered down over 650 feet below the surface of the ocean off the coast of South Korea.
