At the moment, researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science are testing drones and underwater robots to monitor the Great Barrier reef. Tests showed that in the future robots will be able to replace divers and assist people to save the reef.
For testing, researchers from Australia have partnered with the Technological University of Queensland. Modified their robot Blue ROV2 can dive to a depth of 100 meters, to follow the line of the reef and to monitor his condition. Usually this task is performed by the dive team.
After two weeks of testing, it became clear that the robot performs better divers. His hyperspectral camera capable of capturing 270 bands of color information, which is too complex for the naked eye. This gives you the ability to map DNA and identify corals.
Besides the fact that robots see more than able to see people, they can follow the reef at night. In addition, they can dive when it’s not safe for divers because of the crocodiles and sharks. Robots continue to replace human labor.
In Australia, divers were replaced by robots to protect reef
Ernest Vasilevskiy