HARROW: Fleets of self-guided, intelligent underwater robots could soon be helping to protect the environment, search for sunken planes and ships, and hunt for oil.
“What we want you to be able to do is tell the robots what you want them to do in terms of goals and natural language,” said Brian Williams, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and the lead developer of the project. “You can fundamentally change the way you explore the ocean.”
Williams’ system allows unmanned underwater vehicles to explore and make decisions on their own, without being told each and every move.
“You don’t give it these low-level commands, you just give it your goals,” he said.
The system includes a top-down structure to make sure the goals with the highest priority are satisfied. The autonomous underwater vehicles can also work with one another, to avoid collisions and complete tasks together.
A vehicle could be told to explore two areas within a certain time frame, but then decide the best route to do it. That system allowed one of Williams’ vehicles to explore a reef off the coast of Australia recently, terrain that was thought to be impossible for an autonomous underwater vehicle to navigate.
Underwater vehicles now must be told specifically where to go and what to do over the course of a dive. If something goes wrong, all the vehicle can do is abort the mission and surface.
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