Self-charging robots will explore the ocean

These robots generate their own power with kinetic energy

Undersea robots need power to operate, and most are battery-powered. This means the battery will eventually die and the robot will end up in deep-sea garbage or force operators to recharge the battery on a ship. These ships are extremely expensive to operate.

NASA’s According to the latest estimate, this cost is approximately $50,000 and that means tons of diesel fuel. The white whale of deep-sea exploration, then, is a creature that can move through the ocean over long periods of time without needing to be recharged. undersea robot is to improve.

Named for its ability to explore the sea endlessly, Infinite Float harvests kinetic energy to power its movements and sensors. It does this by using phase-change materials, or materials that switch back and forth between solid and liquid states depending on their environment.

every dive endless floatContains paraffin-based ingredients that respond to the ocean’s extreme temperature changes. As the robot dives, the water around it cools, causing the paraffin to freeze and shrink. The resulting kinetic energy forces hydraulic oil towards a small generator that produces electrical energy for the worm float’s battery.

When the robot resurfaces, it encounters warmer water, which melts the paraffin and causes it to expand. This process can be repeated indefinitely, with any excess pressure escaping the endless float via a one-way valve.

Although other teams have tried similar mechanisms in the past, this particular version of phase change-based robot power was designed at NASA’s NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and licensed through the California Institute of Technology.

Seatrec is currently partnering with the Roger F. Wicker Center for Ocean Enterprises at the University of Southern Mississippi to monitor critically endangered Rice whales in the Gulf of Mexico. Other potential uses for the eternal buoy include exploring underwater topography, defense, and being alert to harbingers of tropical storms.

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