Robot Turtle Helps Archaeologists Uncover Sunken Shipwrecks (Video)

Archaeologists may be getting a little help when it comes to investigating shipwrecks deep beneath the ocean waves. Scientists have designed a robot turtle named U-CAT that will help researchers learn a little bit more about wrecks rather than diving into the confined spaces themselves.

Shipwrecks can often be difficult to investigate. Confined spaces and the likelihood that certain areas will collapse can prevent divers from examining specific locations. This new turtle robot, though, can help with that. It's highly maneuverable with independently driven four flippers; it can swim forward, backward, up and down and can even turn on spot in all directions. In addition, the robot carries an onboard camera.

"U-Cat is specifically designed to meet the end-user requirements," said Taavi Salumae, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Conventional underwater robots use propellers for locomotion. Fin propulsors of U-CAT can drive the robot in all directions without disturbing water and beating up silt from the bottom, which would decrease visibility inside the shipwreck."

So why did researchers decide on the shape of a turtle? Mimicking biological organisms, so-called biomimetic robots, are becoming an increasing trend in robotics. When faced with a technological bottleneck, researchers look at nature to provide alternative technical solutions. In this case, the turtle's shape provided researchers with the maneuverability they needed.

These days, underwater robots are mostly exploited in oil and gas industry and in defense. These robots are too big and too expensive to be used for diving inside wrecks, though. By designing a robot shaped like a turtle, the researchers were able to create a relatively inexpensive device that can be exploited by archaeologists in underwater dives.

U-CAT is just one tool that's been created to help underwater archaeologists, though. Currently, researchers are looking at designing further technologies in order to explore the undersea landscape. This could help reconstruct underwater sites which, in turn, would facilitate work in all phases of an archaeological campaign.

Want to see the turtle in action? Check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.