Image credit: Aerial Robotics Lab/Imperial College London The researchers have tested Medusa in both laboratory environments at Imperial, Empa, and in field environments including lakes in Switzerland. Our drone considerably simplifies robotic underwater monitoring by performing challenging tasks which would otherwise require boats.” Professor Mirko Kovac, principal investigator on the project and director of the Aerial Robotics Lab at Imperial, as well as being head of the Robotics Centre at Empa, said: “Medusa is unique in its dual robot design, with a flight component that reaches difficult-to-access areas and a diving component that monitors water quality. The unique design, called 'Multi-Environment Dual robot for Underwater Sample Acquisition' (Medusa), could also help monitor and maintain offshore infrastructure such as underwater energy pipelines and floating wind turbines. The researchers developed the drone to boost the ability to quickly deploy monitoring drones to aquatic environments. The drone could be used in future to monitor climate clues such as temperature changes in Arctic seas. The ‘dual robot’ drone – developed at Imperial College London and tested at Empa and the aquatic research institute Eawag in Switzerland – has successfully measured water in lakes for signs of microorganisms and algal blooms, which can pose hazards to human health.
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