OceanOneK, a deep-water robot named after its ability to dive to a depth of 1,000 meters in the ocean, is a humanoid robot with humanoid controls and is also called a “robot mermaid” by some.
Developed in a project led by roboticist Osama Khatib at Stanford University’s Robotics Lab, OneK has a mobile head with cameras and two arms. It can reach and manipulate objects using its highly active fingers.
Claire Reilly from the popular tech website, at university rec centers CNET Decided to swim with OneK. With a GoPro strapped to his body to record the spectacular boot, he captured him in his element.
OneK has propellers all over its body that help it move through the water. However, primary control is performed from outside the water by a human operator who uses a joystick to direct the robot and move its limbs.
Stereoscopic cameras attached to OneK provide a three-dimensional underwater view to the outside world. The operator can view views from both cameras at the same time on a split screen.
The robot was designed to efficiently reach depths that humans cannot.
“Your avatar is in the water of One,” remarked the preacher.
In 2016, OneK, then just OceanOne, was taken for a proper test dive in the Mediterranean Sea. While the prototype worked perfectly, Khatib and his team decided they wanted the bot to be able to dive deeper.
So, the team had to redesign the entire machine, which now went 10 times deeper than its initial model, so that it could survive the immense atmospheric pressure underwater.
Scientists filled OneK’s arms with oil as well as “installed special spring mechanisms,” the site reported.
Khatib said he wanted to create a “robot Aquaman” to create something even more active, despite the presence of several deep-water exploration vehicles and boats. He said that in cases of shipwrecks, for example, it was important to have a body that could “handle delicate objects easily”.