/ News

27.11.2013

Turtle Robot Dives Wrecks

Diving shipwrecks can be dangerous work. As their name implies, these deep sea curiosities are underwater disaster zones that could trap an unwary diver. Robotic vehicles can help, but most are too big to explore the nooks and crannies and others get their power via a tether to the mothership and that limits their reach.

A new robot called U-CAT is small enough to fit into the tiny spaces of shipwrecks and it lacks a tether, which would otherwise hamper its movement. The robot imitates a turtle with its four mechanical “flippers” that allow it to hover, turn in place and move forward and backward.

“Conventional underwater robots use propellers for locomotion. 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”, said Taavi Salumäe, designer of the U-CAT and researcher in the Centre for Biorobotics at the Tallinn University of Technology, in a press release.

U-CAT carries a camera that can take footage of a wreck, allowing researchers to reconstruct the inside and target areas that look more interesting for follow-up later.

Being able to get around -- and not reduce visibility -- is key in a shipwreck dive, as is getting into small spaces. Besides that, U-CAT is relatively cheap. Maarja Kruusmaa, head of the Centre for Biorobotics, told Discovery News that smart as the robot is, it might still get stuck or lost. “This way it won’t bankrupt the archeologist,” she said.

The little robot will first be tested in the Baltic sea, and then get a big test in the Mediterranean, where it will work with bigger robots and archeologists on the ARROWS project, an EU initiative to develop robots for use in underwater archaeology.

Credit: Centre for Biorobotics, Tallinn University of Technology

Source: http://news.discovery.com/tech/robotics/turtle-robot-dives-wrecks-131126.htm




/ About us

Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems.

The main goals of the 2045 Initiative: the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity which meets global civilization challenges; the creation of optimale conditions promoting the spiritual enlightenment of humanity; and the realization of a new futuristic reality based on 5 principles: high spirituality, high culture, high ethics, high science and high technologies. 

The main science mega-project of the 2045 Initiative aims to create technologies enabling the transfer of a individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the world’s major spiritual traditions, science and society.

A large-scale transformation of humanity, comparable to some of the major spiritual and sci-tech revolutions in history, will require a new strategy. We believe this to be necessary to overcome existing crises, which threaten our planetary habitat and the continued existence of humanity as a species. With the 2045 Initiative, we hope to realize a new strategy for humanity's development, and in so doing, create a more productive, fulfilling, and satisfying future.

The "2045" team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality.

An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.

 

Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society

2015-2020

The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "brain-computer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.

2020-2025

Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact brain will be able to return to a fully functioning  bodily life. Such technologies will  greatly enlarge  the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make  all  kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.

2030-2035

Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness  with the subsequent development of means to transfer individual consciousness  onto an artificial carrier. This development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of  cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence,  expand human capabilities  and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain multiple times.  The final result  at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.

2045

This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive!  Changes will occur in all spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology, sciences, and so on.

Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots  will become affordable  and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled matter. One thing is clear however:  humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover,  prerequisites for a large-scale  expansion into outer space will be created as well.

 

Key elements of the project in the future

• International social movement
• social network immortal.me
• charitable foundation "Global Future 2045" (Foundation 2045)
• scientific research centre "Immortality"
• business incubator
• University of "Immortality"
• annual award for contribution to the realization of  the project of "Immortality”.

Login as user:

If you are registered on one of these websites, you can get a quick registration. To do this, please select the wesite and follow the instructions.

Login to 2045.com

Email:
You do not have login to 2045.com? Register!
Dear colleagues, partners, friends! If you support ​the 2045 strategic social initiative goals and values, please register on our website.

Quick registration:

If you are registered on one of these websites, you can get a quick registration. To do this, please select the wesite and follow the instructions.

Registration

Name:
Surname:
Field of activity:
Email:
Password:
Enter the code shown:

Show another picture

Восстановить пароль

Email:

Text:
Contact Email:
Attachment ( not greater than 5 Mb. ):
 
Close
avatar project milestones