How sea animals are inspiring autonomous robots

DW (English)

Berlin-based company EvoLogics is a global market leader for maritime surveying and data collection. The gadgets it uses in its autonomous robots are inspired by sea creatures.

Transcript

00:00It looks like any other Manta Ray, but it's most certainly not.

00:07This one contains high-tech equipment.

00:10There's the fin steering, of course, but there's also an underwater modem,

00:16there's radio and Wi-Fi communication interfaces,

00:19and there's networking solutions for ocean monitoring.

00:23So far, this Manta Ray is just a prototype showing off the company's capabilities.

00:30If you take a fish and apply pressure to its flank, it pushes back.

00:36What we have here is a very special construction where, too, when you apply pressure,

00:42the wing changes its shape due to the movement of its, let's say, fish bones.

00:49We love the beauty of nature, its forms, its aesthetics,

00:57and the functionality behind it all, but it's not as an end in itself.

01:03There's a technical purpose of everything.

01:07These appliances are shaped to be extremely dynamic.

01:12They have a very low drag in water, it uses very little energy to move ahead.

01:19It's also extremely quiet.

01:22Now, looking at communication technology, we're taking inspiration from dolphins

01:27and we're getting a very robust data connection, and it's all very environmentally friendly.

01:35And this is the company's bestseller, Sonobot, a small catamaran.

01:40It's being used at Berlin's Museum Island today.

01:43The catamaran is using sonar to detect whether water levels here have changed

01:48since the new subway line was built here a year earlier.

01:51It's important information, not least for shipping companies active on Berlin's waterways.

01:57The catamaran's onboard computer uses AI and can even help locate lost items.

02:03Here we can see the depth values.

02:07Like, here it's a bit lighter, which means it's a bit deeper.

02:10What's red here, the water is pretty shallow, we're between two and four meters deep.

02:17Sonobot makes for easy surveying.

02:20The job used to take larger boats with well-stocked crews.

02:27They had knots on a rope, and they would let it down to see how deep the water is.

02:33But in the time it took them to navigate the boat to the next stop,

02:37we're pretty much done with the whole job.

02:39We're a lot more flexible and faster.

02:43These days, Evalogix has around 100 employees and builds one or two sonobots per day

02:49for between 100 and 500,000 euros, depending on their configuration.

02:54Industrial clients from 65 countries use them when building dams,

02:59offshore wind parks, bridges, or to check on pipelines.

03:03They're also used in harbors and to keep an eye on critical infrastructure.

03:08Of course, we're working within a framework of geopolitical and geostrategical developments.

03:14There are special challenges in the Black Sea, the South China Sea, with China, Russia,

03:19that involve maritime solutions.

03:21Maritime safety is a big topic, and we have to deal with it here in Germany and Europe, too.

03:28And he is supposed to help with those challenges, the Quadroin,

03:32another maritime robot inspired by penguins.

03:36Unlike Sonobot, it can dive and collect maritime and environmental data from great depths.

03:42It can be steered by remote control, or it can be controlled by a remote control system.

03:48The Quadroin is designed to help with these challenges.

03:53It's another high-tech solution that's gaining interest in industry,

03:57but also with police and even the military.

04:22For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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