New Underwater Robot Can Plan Its Own Missions Without Human Help

Scientists may have managed to create an underwater robot that can plan its own missions. In March, a team tested an autonomous mission-planning system during a research cruise off of the western coast of Australia.

Underwater robots are used to map and monitor pockets of the ocean to track the health of fisheries and survey marine habitats and species. In general, these robots are effective at carrying out low-level tasks that are a tedious and time-consuming process for engineers. The new programming, though, could allow robots to carry out higher-level tasks.

In this latest study, the researchers tested the system on an autonomous underwater glider. The robot managed to operate safely among a number of other autonomous vehicles, while receiving higher-level commands. The glider, using the system, adapted its mission plan to avoid getting in the way of other vehicles while still achieving its objectives. For example, if another vehicle was taking longer than expected to explore a particular area, the glider would reshuffle its priorities and choose to stay in its current location longer.

"We wanted to show that these vehicles could plan their own missions, and execute, adapt and re-plan them alone, without human support," said Brian Williams, one of the developers of the new system, in a news release. "With this system, we were showing we could safely zigzag all the way around the reef, like an obstacle course."

By giving robots more control of higher-level decision-making, engineers are free to think about overall strategy. In fact, this system could reduce the size of the operational team needed on research cruises and could allow robots to explore places that would otherwise not be possible to traverse. Robots wouldn't need constant contact with engineers, which would free them up to explore the more remote reaches of the ocean.

"If you look at the ocean right now, we can use Earth-orbiting satellites, but they don't penetrate much below the surface," said Williams. "You could send sea vessels which send one autonomous vehicle, but that doesn't show you a lot. This technology can offer a whole new way to observe the ocean, which is exciting."

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