Researchers from MIT came up with a new underwater robot that can stay in place over a specific location as a helicopter using its thrusts.

Engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology called the device Odyssey IV, and it's the latest in the Odyssey series of tiny, cheap and intelligent crafts developed by MIT Sea Grant College Program's Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Laboratory. These small devices changed the way the underwater research was made during the 1990s, but, up to now, they were limited in the same way as sharks: they were only able to carry out their tasks while constantly moving forwards.

But the new craft takes underwater robot movement one step further. While it is perfectly able to sink up to 6 km (3.7 miles) down, it can also move or stop at any depth, as it continuously adjusts its position and direction, taking obstacles and currents into account. Using a mixture of fins and thrusters placed at both of its ends, Odyssey IV can propel itself as fast as 2 m per second, as well as hover over a certain pre-established location, inspecting or taking pictures.

The device was tested during a study on the George's Bank region in the Gulf of Maine, renowned for the area's commercial fisheries. Using its features, it observed the invasion of Didemnum (a giant sea squirt) within the waters of New England and provided huge help in the endeavor of preventing the squirt species from driving native species to extinction. The robot will also be able to pick up cargo when it is provided with a mechanical arm. Chryssostomos Chryssostomidis, director of the MIT Sea Grant Program says that “Like a giant helicopter, this can pick up cargo underwater. Now, we can visit an oil well, pick up a sample and bring it back to shore.”

As it is easy to imagine, this craft will prove an invaluable instrument for fields like deep water exploration, oceanography, marine archeology, ocean oil industry and many others. Its developers will not hover in one place, though. They continuously search for ways to improve their aquatic robot, such as improving the energy storage and communication features, which would enable it to remain underwater for longer, cover more ground and gather more data or samples (their goal is to make it able to stay in the ocean for a whole year, without coming to surface). Another piece of their attention will be dedicated to the mechanical arm's flexibility and dexterity in order for the craft to better carry out repair or collecting operations. Chryssostomidis won't take any chance with the design: “The sea is very unforgiving. If there's anything that can go wrong, the sea will find it”.