Chinese institute develops underwater robot for deep-sea surveys

BEIJING -- A remote-controlled underwater robot that can dive as deep as 6,000 meters has passed sea test and been delivered to its user, according to the Shenyang Institute of Automation (SIA) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the developer of the robot.

The Wenhai-1, developed for the Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology of the China Geological Survey, is the country's first autonomous unmanned deep-sea probe that features functions such as wide-range autonomous cruise detection and precise remote control spot sampling, the SIA noted on its website.

During the sea test and application, the Wenhai-1 conducted 17 dive missions, during which it achieved high precision detection data near the seabed, the column samples of surface sediments and seabed organisms. Meanwhile, the precision measurement of the Earth's gravity field and magnetic field has been realized, the SIA said.

The Wenhai-1 is designed to serve deep-sea scientific research such as marine environment surveys, biodiversity surveys, seabed geophysical surveys for specific targets, deep-sea extreme environment in-situ detection and deep-sea mineral resources surveys.