Swimming robots from USA to Australia

A self-controlled robot has completed its journey from the US to Australia after more than 12 months.

Papa Mau, the robot's name, crosses the 16.668km route to Australia. Its sensors collect data on temperature, salinity, Pacific ecosystems during swimming at a frequency of once every 10 minutes. Liquid Robotics, a US-based company, created Papa Mau. The company's leadership said that the robot's success showed that it could withstand large waves across the ocean, BBC News reported.

The solar panels on top of Papa Mau
Power for its sensors. (Photo: Liquid Robotics)

The other robots of Liquid Robotics are still swimming in the ocean. A robot will arrive in Australia early next year. The remaining robots move towards Japan, but a damaged machine should return to Hawaii to repair engineers.

Liquid Robotics staff picked up Papa Mau after it arrived in Australia. (Photo: Liquid Robotics)

Each robot is made up of two parts, with the upper part having the same shape as the surfboard, while the lower part has multiple metal plates to act as fins. The two parts are connected together by a cable. The robots do not use fuel that generates thrust from the waves. Some solar panels are mounted on the top of the robot to power the sensor system.