Risk Taking Marine Robot

Taking calculated risks was not part of the skill set of a robotic exploration vehicle. It was much more of a human trait to assess every input and then take action. However, the researcher engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have come up with an algorithm that can teach a marine robot to take calculated risks when exploring an unknown region in the deeps.

The undersea landscape is one of the least explored and known areas on the planet. There are expansive canyons, towering seamounts, deep trenches, and sheer cliffs which we have no idea about. The robotic marine explorers have opened up the underwater topography to humans in ways that were earlier simply not possible. However, being able to keep the robot explorer safe while entering the relative unknown was a problematic issue.

One which these researchers with their fancy software seemed to have solved. The autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) can now use the algorithm to decide the reward and the risk level of travelling down a slope or up a cliff face underwater.

Benjamin Ayton, a graduate student in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics said there’s a tradeoff between the reward of what you gather, and the risk or threat of going toward these dangerous geographies, they can take certain risks when it’s worthwhile. Now this is a true pioneer in science experiments.