OceanOneK resembles a human diver from the front, with arms and hands and eyes that have 3D vision, capturing the underwater world in full color.
The back of the robot has computers and eight multidirectional thrusters that help it carefully maneuver the sites of fragile sunken ships.
OceanOneK, here doing an experiment in a swimming pool at Stanford University, resembles a human diver.
When an operator at the ocean’s surface uses controls to direct OceanOneK, the robot’s haptic (touch-based) feedback system causes the person to feel the water’s resistance as well as the contours of artifacts.
OceanOneK’s realistic sight and touch capabilities are enough to make people feel like they’re diving down to the depths — without the dangers or immense underwater pressure a human diver would experience.
Stanford University roboticist Oussama Khatib and his students teamed up with deep-sea archaeologists and began sending the robot on dives in September. The team just finished another underwater expedition in July.
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