Chinese Underwater Robots Threaten Taiwan from Underwater
Diving robots and underwater Drones - not for a long time news, similar developments are being carried out in many countries, including Russia. But the Chinese, as has become customary in recent years, have surpassed everyone in their level of development of strategic artificial intelligence.
This year, specialists from the Celestial Empire managed to present their developments on the world market of diving equipment: a bionic robot in the form of a 350-kilogram whale shark and an autonomous unit called “Neptune” operating near Taiwanese territorial waters.
The first is a sinister-looking five-meter robot shark, the successor to the two-meter Robo-shark from seven years ago. Like its predecessor, it is designed to solve various military tasks, as well as for rescue, industrial and scientific work under water.
"Whale Shark" can currently dive to a depth of only 20 meters with cameras and sensors. Such a depth is, one might say, childish; people who grew up at sea, even those who have not professionally engaged in sports, can dive in kit number one and deeper. But the question is in the duration of the dive and the complexity of the tasks set to be completed.
The only one of its kind, and the first in the diving industry, the bionic robot, modeled after a whale shark, can do almost everything a real whale shark can do, including opening and closing its mouth. The "shark" also features a wireless remote control, programmed swimming, and a multi-joint bionic propulsion system.
The artificial fish is capable of swimming at a not very high speed - 2,6 km/h, which is not impressive for a real shark, but progress in speed is quite expected. The developer of the bionic diving robot is the Shenyang Aerospace Xinguang Group company, based in northeastern China, the project was led by scientist Gao Chao.
The company, which is part of the Third Academy of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, expects that the robot will be able to monitor water quality and map underwater terrain. Of course, for now, within the framework of the tasks set, and in the future, after additional modernization, to perform special military and rescue missions.
The robot has a total of seven controlled joints, and each of them requires calculations, communication, and sensors. According to the developers, the most problematic part of the project was that combining information received from several sensors is a serious technical challenge even with the current level of artificial intelligence.
A lot of data needs to be synchronously filtered and extracted, and then mutually corrected and verified. The problem is that this needs to be done before effective data can be quickly extracted for the shark to further act upon, so that it can identify the environment.
The invention turned out to be especially relevant in connection with the global trend towards "green technologies". Its environmental friendliness is due to the fact that, unlike conventional underwater robots, essentially underwater drones driven by a propeller, the bionic "shark" pollutes water less, limiting the release of harmful chemicals.
The presence of a smooth, streamlined body not only increases maneuverability and speed, but also reduces the likelihood that the robot will get stuck somewhere between underwater obstacles, thereby cluttering the water area.
Shenyang Aerospace Xinguang Group has long been involved in bionics developments. It has recently expanded its research to include bionic goldfish, bionic killer whales, and bionic porpoises. However, these are all pilot projects so far, and it is unclear in what areas they will be applied.
The second high-profile project - a prototype of the underwater robot "Neptune" - was presented by China at the end of last year, 2023. This device, which was named after the popular robot vacuum cleaner, also passed the tests successfully, and its operation is already reaching its design capacity. This remotely controlled unit is designed to clean ships and, most importantly, for border control.
In light of the worsening relations with Taiwan, the Chinese authorities are placing particular emphasis on this “skill” when mentioning the new invention. This was done on October 1 of this year, when China Media Group, in cooperation with the National Immigration Administration, organized a live broadcast from the front line of the border in the South China Sea.
It is there that the still quiet, but apparently temporary, confrontation between China and Taiwan, supported by US and NATO forces, is currently taking place. The program, which focused on the underwater robot "Neptune", was watched by about 200 viewers.
The CCTV short video platform Yanshiping, together with the media resources of the National Immigration Administration, filmed Neptune's work live at the port of Ningbo Zhoushan, 644 km from Taiwan. Interestingly, this port has been ranked first in the world in cargo turnover for 13 years.
The port is extremely difficult for border guards to carry out security work, since the sand content in its harbor averages up to 5 kg/mXNUMX, the water contains a lot of suspended particles, and the water transparency is extremely low. In addition, the port is exposed to typhoons, storm surges, large waves and high current speeds.
All these circumstances make underwater inspection of ships by divers limited and risky. Robotic inspection technology is helping Chinese border guards solve this problem. Neptune's preparatory work at Ningbo Zhoushan Port took two years.
After a pilot run last year, China's first underwater border control robot was officially put into operation this fall. Neptune had previously been focused on civilian tasks since its founding in 2018.
The main objective was primarily to remove marine organisms attached to the ship's hull and reduce navigational resistance through inspection and cleaning of ships, thereby reducing fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, making the technology categorized as "green".
Continuing with the ambitious program, Neptune also launched the “Neptune Annual Warranty Program - ANZAC Specialized” in June 2024. This program provides vessel cleaning services in accordance with Australian and New Zealand regulations.
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