After the successful dive in a 115m-deep sinkhole in eastern Mexico exploring La Pilita, will it now tour to the ice-covered moon of Jupiter - Europa - to carry out a mission to seek life?! Yes, the NASA-funded autonomous robot - the Deep Phreatic Thermal Explorer — resembling a 2.5m-wide, 1.2-tonne orange mushroom can:-
swim to the depths of flooded caverns,
create maps of the area,
bring back scientific samples.
Hats off to Carnegie Mellon University for developing the software guided it. The amazing mushroom-like robot can itself find its own way around an underwater cave without the help of tethers, guidance or even outside communication!
This autonomy clearly distinguishes the new robot from the remotely operated vehicles like the Alvin submersible, used in the search for Titanic.
The robot has not just that to surprise us. It is also capable of identifying targets of scientific interest, bringing them back alive by either help checking the salinity, acidity, conductivity and chemical content of the water or by following the scent to a hydrothermal vent or a microbial mat.
Interestingly, the robot can look for colour variations signalling the presence of organisms. And when needed, it can extend a mechanical arm to grab a sample and bring it to the surface.
What else do a researcher need and can demand from a robot!
