In Mediterranean waters, off the coast of France, a diver recently visited the shipwreck La Lune, which lay untouched and unexplored on the ocean bottom since it sank in
1664. But the wreck's first visitor in centuries wasn't human. It was a robot.
Called OceanOne, the bright orange diving robot measures about
1.5 meters in length and has a torso (躯干), a head with stereoscopic vision (立体视觉) and arms. Its lower section holds its computer "brain", a power supply, and an array of eight multidirectional thrusters (推进器).
Guided by a computer scientist from a boat, OceanOne combined artificial intelligence, sensory feedback and flexible mechanical construction to perform delicate tasks underwater, such as retrieving a delicate cultural relic from the ruins. It can place the cultural relic in a box so the thing can be brought to the surface.
OceanOne can not only investigate parts of the ocean that are less accessible to people, but can do so with the flexibility of a human diver. The engineers also created an interface (接口) that allows a person to not only control the robot, but to actually "feel" what the robot is touching. "The intention 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 that the experience of guiding the robot is almost like being the diver. "You can feel exactly what the robot is doing," said Khatib.
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 make adjustments to stay in place or change direction.
The team behind OceanOne viewed the robot as a means for studying Red Sea's coral reefs at depths that were inaccessible to a human diver. OceanOne would conduct underwater research—operated by a scientist on the surface—without damaging the reef or its inhabitants.
