Feature: Amazing Underwater Robots

So you’ve seen the Honda ASIMO, now check out some amazing underwater robots.

ACM-R5 Amphibious Snake-Like Robot

Powered by a lithium-ion battery, the ACM-R5 is a radio-controlled amphibious robot designed to move like its real world counterpart. It can slither or swim underwater for 30 minutes on a full charge. Inside, you’ll find an intricate sensor system (attitude/torque), small-sized camera, and a 32bit micro controller. [Source]

Robotic Carp

Japanese researchers at Ryomei Engineering have developed a line of robotic carp — “modeled after a Nishiki koi carp as a form of tribute to Hiroshima Castle ” — that come equipped with CCD cameras and sensors for analyzing water quality.

The 80-cm (31-inch), 12-kg (26-pound) fish has a white body with bright red spots. Though the tail movement is very smooth and lifelike, the remote-controlled koi is capable of moves that a genuine koi is unable to perform, such as swimming in reverse and rotating in place

[Source]

Plane/Squid

Researchers at Japan’s Kobe University have unveiled two underwater robots that move eerily smiliar to their real-life counterparts. Technical information has not yet been released, but they sure to give us a glimpse of what’s to come in the world of robotics.[Source 1 – 2]