Inspecting underwater infrastructure for damage or just conducting routine maintenance of ships and submarines has never been easy. But that changes now.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have successfully tested a snake-like drone that can slither its way underwater and squeeze into hard-to-reach spaces. Called Hardened Underwater Modular Robot Snake (HUMRS), this underwater drone can go places where other drones or robots cannot.
And as such, it has opened up new possibilities for underwater inspections for military and non-military users alike.
Let’s watch it in action…
Problems with underwater inspections
Typically, to inspect underwater pipes and offshore oil rigs, asset owners need to send in a team of divers to the infrastructure location. Or in the case of submarines and ships, the Navy may prefer to wait to deploy divers until the asset returns to port or pulls it into a dry dock. These…
