A SHAPESHIFTING robot submarine has reached Earth’s deepest point – 36,000ft underwater – in search of deep-sea “aliens”.
The tiny Chinese drone survived a mission to the bottom of the Mariana Trench – the deepest pit in any of the world’s oceans.
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The high-tech explorer marks a revolution in the world of deep-sea robotics, which is our portal to understanding the “alien” world down there.
At just 50cm long, the bot was designed to withstand the enormous pressure at the bottom of the deep – which is harnesses to propel itself along.
The cutting-edge drone can also morphs into different shapes to suit different tasks.
The fins and legs are super-adaptable, allowing it to swim and glide through the water, or crawl along the bed like a crab.
A CGI video shows how the legs adopt a new range of movement when the bot hits the floor.
Smaller than a briefcase, the mini transformer was developed by researchers at Beijing’s Beihang University.
Professor Wen Li, who led the project, said: “At a depth of 10km, the pressure is like a robot bearing the weight of an iceberg.”
She added: “The material structure transforms external high pressure into enhanced speed and amplitude for the actuator, turning the weakness into an asset.”
Underwater robots are vital to unlocking the secrets of the deep sea – which remains Earth’s least understood environment.
However, previous designs have been clumsy and difficult to manoeuvre.
For this model, the Chinese developers threw out the rule book.
Most notably, the robot is far smaller than its predecessors, and weighs just 16 grams.
The super-lightweight design avoids kicking up clouds of sediment, as larger robots tend to.
The battery-powered bot is fitted with “shape-memory” springs, which lets is switch between the two modes of movement.
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Its wings can flap gently to waft the machine through the water, and on touchdown the legs swivel to walk along the ground.
While swimming, the creates forward thrust from it tail fin, and can reach a maximum speed of 5.5cm per second.
When crawling along, it travels at 3cm per second, using its legs to drag itself over the sand.
The design team said they first tested the bot at 1,380 metres down in the Haima Cold Seep, before progressing to the Mariana Trench.
Each time, the drone was retrieved full intact.
The team now plans to improve the performance of the tiny bot to prepare it for future exploratory missions.
