On the water, cruising along with no paddles or people in sight, the kayaks look like the evidence of a day trip gone wrong. But one day, small robotic vessels like these, piloting themselves and loaded with high-tech gadgetry, could bring supplies to tsunami survivors or search for hidden explosives in coastal waters.
The kayaks, called SCOUTs (surface craft for oceanographic and undersea testing), are meant to help the navy develop navigation software for underwater robots. The navy envisions a day when swarms of autonomous submarines sweep the ocean floor for mines. Because it is very difficult for vessels to communicate with each other underwater, a team including Joseph Curcio and John Leonard, of MIT’s Center for Ocean Engineering, and navy scientist Michael Benjamin suggested first developing the navigation software for surface craft–kayaks equipped with GPS, Wi-Fi, and radio antennae. They proceeded to outfit several plastic boats–bought off the shelf for $500 each–with battery-operated propellers, computers sealed in watertight compartments, and communications gear. Leonard likens the work to “using training wheels to learn how to ride a bike.”
There are 10 SCOUTs in operation, including four owned by the navy. In one experiment, three of the 10-foot-long boats fall into a triangular formation, like a tiny flock of migrating birds, with the two trailing vessels determining their positions and headings based solely on information from the lead boat. “Wherever he goes, they go,” says Curcio. The researchers are working on using undersea acoustical information to achieve the same result.
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