Technology Blog

Underwater Bot Divers can control robotic submersibles, like this flippered one, by using a tablet computer that communicates with bar codes. via Technology Review First dolphins caught on. Now underwater robots are using iPads to communicate, thanks to a new system designed at York University in Toronto. As Technology Review reports, divers can use symbols on tablet computers to control underwater 'bots. The system could enable enhanced diver/robot collaboration. Despite their importance for aquaculture, surveillance and oil-spill cleanup, it's still difficult to remotely control robots underwater, especially when they are not tethered to a mother ship. Radio waves are too easily distorted, sonar requires too much power, and aquatic particles interfere with light waves. One new system would give robots transmission capabilities, allowing them to relay information and work in swarms. The waterproof tablets may be the solution. They can display two-dimensional bar codes, or tags, that are alread