JOIN TODAY
JOIN TODAY

New "Sea Turtle" Robot to Study Shipwrecks

News November 27, 2013

(Tallinn University of Technology)
SHARE:

Sea-turtle-robot
(Tallinn University of Technology)
LONDON, ENGLAND—Estonian engineers have unveiled a new underwater robot, called U-CAT, designed specifically to operate inside shipwrecks. The robot is propelled by four flippers that mimic the locomotion of sea turtles."Conventional underwater robots use propellers for locomotion," explains Taavi Salumäe, a designer at the Tallinn University of Technology's Centre for Biorobotics."[The] 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” The robot was built as part of a European Union-funded research project called ARROWS that develops technology for use in underwater archaeology. 

 

Recommended Articles

Features July/August 2026

Egypt's First Queen

How a trailblazing ruler pulled her realm back from the brink

Read Article
Beaded bracelets
© Araldo De Luca

Features July/August 2026

Secrets of the Serpent

Is a Native American origin story embedded in Ohio’s colossal earthwork?

Read Article
Serpent Mound
Timothy E. Black

Features July/August 2026

Slinging Insults

Greek and Roman soldiers fired pointed barbs at their enemies

Read Article
Lead sling bullet inscribed with the Greek inscription MATHOU
Courtesy Michael Eisenberg

Features July/August 2026

Inside Africa’s Houses of Stone

Archaeologists are rethinking how kings shared power beyond the great capitals of medieval Zimbabwe

Read Article
Ad/AdobeStock

More to Discover

Features September/October 2013

Wolf Rites of Winter

Archaeologists digging a Bronze Age site on the Russian steppes are using evidence from language and mythology to understand a remarkable discovery

Read Article

  • Features September/October 2013

    Tomb of the Vulture Lord

    A king’s burial reveals a pivotal moment in Maya history

    Read Article
    (© Kenneth Garrett)

  • Letter from Norway September/October 2013

    The Big Melt

    The race to find, and save, ancient artifacts emerging from glaciers and ice patches in a warming world

    Read Article
    Norway melting ice patch
    Courtesy Oppland County Council, Photo: Johan Wildhagen/Palookaville

  • Artifacts September/October 2013

    Roman Writing Tablet

    A tablet bearing a birthday party invite includes the earliest Latin script penned by a woman

    Read Article
    (© The Trustees of the British Museum/Art Resource, NY)

  • Digs & Discoveries September/October 2013

    No Changeups on the Savannah

    Read Article
    (Private Collection/J.T. Vintage/The Bridgeman Art Library, Werner Forman/Art Resource, NY, Pat Benic/Copyright Bettmann/Corbis/AP Images)