Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Underwater Mine Detection Robots Vs. Wabbler
The US Navy is trying to find a better way to detect underwater mines. They used specially trained dophins to remove 100 underwater mines from the Persian Gulf in 2003.
Underwater mine detecting robots have been deployed with limited success. So, the Navy is funding projects that will attempt to use adaptive learning and incremental knowledge assimilation to create a smarter underwater mine detection robot.
These new systems would extend the capabilities of systems like the Remote Minehunting System, which was tested with mixed results in the field in 2008.
Sea mines are a cost-effective method for hostile forces to attempt to neutralize assets of the U.S. Navy by limiting mobility and creating delay. Mine detection, classification and localization (DCL) is very challenging in littoral environments due to the high clutter, increased background, and dense multipath. 3 Phoenix, Inc. has developed an innovative approach for automatic target detection and classification of sea mines and other underwater targets of interest. The proposed algorithm robustly adapts to changes in environment and has the potential for dramatically reducing false alarm rate, while still maintaining a high probability of detection and classification.
(Remote Minehunting System)
It is easy to predict the obvious counter move - smarter underwater mines. It was easy for me, because I'd read Murray Leinster's excellent 1942 short story The Wabbler about just such a device - a robotic undersea munition.
...The Wabbler lay in its place, with its tenfoot tail coiled neatly above its lower end, and waited with a sort of deadly patience... It and all its brothers were pear-shaped, with absurdly huge and blunt-ended horns, and with small round holes where eyes might have been, and shielded vents where they might have had mouths...The Wabbler leaned infinitesimally toward the shore. Presently its flexible tail ceased to be curved where it lay upon the ooze. It straightened out. Then the Wabbler moved. Shoreward...
(Read more about Leinster's Wabbler)
From Wired.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/24/2009)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
YES!! Remote Teleoperated Robots predicted by Technovelgy!
'...a misshapen, many-tentacled thing about twice the size of a man.'
Will Robots Ever Fold Landry?
Where have you gone, Mrs. Robinson?
Cybertruck Robotic Arm F10 Drone Launch!
Drone away!
Will Robots Become Family Caregivers?
'The robant and the tiny old woman entered the control room slowly...' - Philip K. Dick, 1953.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Musk Idea Of Cars Talking To Each Other Predicted 70 Years Ago
'My cars talk to one another.'
Elegant Bivouac Shelter Produces Water And Electricity
'There was nowhere on the planet where science and technology could not provide one with a comfortable home...'
X-Control Janus-1 A Suitcase Aircraft
'You will notice that it... fits the suitcase nicely.'
'AI Assistants' Are Actually Less Reliable For News
'Most men updated their PIP on New Year's Day...'
YES!! Remote Teleoperated Robots predicted by Technovelgy!
'...a misshapen, many-tentacled thing about twice the size of a man.'
Will Robots Ever Fold Landry?
Where have you gone, Mrs. Robinson?
Will AIs Give Better Results If You're Rude To Them?
'I said, "Listen up, motherf*cker.'
Cybertruck Robotic Arm F10 Drone Launch!
Drone away!
Black Fungus Blocks Radiation
'You were surrounded by Astrophage most of the time'
Liuzhi Process Now In Use In China
'He was in a high-ceilinged windowless cell with walls of glittering white porcelain.'
Reflect Orbital Offers 'Sunlight on Demand' And Light Pollution
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors...'
Will Robots Become Family Caregivers?
'The robant and the tiny old woman entered the control room slowly...'
Chinese Tokamak Uses AI To Keep Fusion Plasma Stable
'Guy named Otto Octavius winds up with eight limbs... What are the odds?'
Time Crystals Can Now Be Seen Directly
'It is as you thought when you constructed the time crystal, my master Vaylan.'
RoboBallet The Dance Of Cooperative Robots
'...an integrated seven-unit robot team.'
Chrysalis Generation Ship to Alpha Centauri
'This was their world, their planet —
this swift-traveling, yet seemingly moveless vessel.'
