A robotics engineering company creates the world’s first hovering robot that collects rare minerals underwater without damaging the seafloor.
The fleet of underwater robotic vehicles hovers above an area of the seabed full of nodules or rocks that contain minerals. An AI-powered computer then commands a host of horseshoe crab-like grabber arms on the robot’s underside to pick up the rocks without touching the seafloor. These are then fed through a hose into a collection chamber.
Nodules containing lithium, nickel, and cobalt are typically dredged and mined under the sea and used as battery manufacturing materials. With this robotic innovation, harvesting these rocks is now possible without damaging the seabed and causing biodiversity loss.
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