Future underwater rescue robots could be inspired by sea turtles

In the near future, researchers hope to produce swarms of autonomous tiny robotic sea turtles and fishes, for example, to perform hazardous missions such as detecting nuclear waste underwater or other tasks too dangerous for humans. Among underwater robotics, turtle robots are among the most maneuverable. A team of engineers have built a prototype turtle robot to perform set tasks, while also being able to react to exigencies and obstacles.

Nature has more often than not proven itself to be the inspiration for inventions that we have seen over the years – such as the aeroplane, or even the helicopter. Having said that, researchers do hope to work on releasing many autonomous tiny robotic sea turtles and fishes, where these robots will do the dirty work of handling hazardous missions including the detection of nuclear waste when underwater, in addition to various tasks that have been deemed to be too dangerous where a human being’s presence is concerned. Turtle robots have been proven to be the most maneuverable of the lot, and a team of engineers over at the National University of Singapore have come up with a prototype turtle robot which is capable of performing a select set of tasks, at the same time is intelligent enough to react to exigencies and obstacles.