Undersea robots get smarter

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Underwater robots that can make their own decisions? According to the Office of Naval Research, scientists have successfully transitioned fundamental research in autonomy to undersea gliders, demonstrating in sea tests in the Pacific how the new software can help robots become smarter at surveying large swaths of ocean. "Using the new algorithms, the vehicle has a greater ability to make its own decisions without requiring a human in the loop," said Marc Steinberg, program officer for ONR's Adaptive Networks for Threat and Intrusion Detection or Termination. With plans to deploy squadrons of air, surface and undersea robotic vehicles later this decade, the Navy is investing in basic research programs to improve autonomous system capabilities. (Source: NNS, 12/02/11) Gulf Coast note: The Naval Oceanographic Office at NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss., operates a fleet of underwater vehicles; the ONR's Naval Research Lab has a detachment at SSC.