US 'grooming robot' to reduce navy bottom-fouling

In a bid to tackle the degrading effects of widespread "bottom fouling" in the US fleet, the US Navy has announced that it is engaged in efforts to develop an "autonomous grooming robot". The US Navy's BUG bottom-cleansing bot. Credit: ONR 'Scrub your bottom, sir?' The robot is known as the Bio-inspired Underwater Grooming …

[Colin 4]

only the beginning !

this could go a lot further ... the hull could have a full complement of little BUGs that can crawl all over it, not only anti-fouling but also performing repairs. just like the R2 units on the spaceships in Star Wars eh ?

Could do with being a bit more streamlined though - unlike the R2s, these guys will have to deal with some pretty heavy resistance from the water if they want to work when the ships are underway

[Dale 3]

Don't ask, don't tell

If I didn't say it, someone else would have.

[multipharious]

bravo

Chuckling mirthfully. Why can't all news be written this way?

[Matt 58]

I see

This looks like a robot wars entry. 4 wheel drive pushing type robot with some extra fighting gear located in a hidden compartment.

[Paul Hates Handles]

The article title...

...completely misled me as to its content. *whistles*

[eJ2095]

What

No Frikkin laser beams???

Dissapointed with the US Navy now

[Anonymous Coward]

So how...

...do they plan on mechanizing rum and the lash then? Inquiring minds want to know.

Mine's the one with the reinforced patch on the backside.

[Paul Hates Handles]

Also... @Matt 58

I read that as "extra fisting gear..."

Goin' to hell...

[John Smith 19]

Reduces fuel consumption 40%

Some day all ships will have one crawling over their bottom.

[Anonymous Coward]

That can't be legal

Reducing bottom fouling in the US navy must infringe on the rights of seamen. Abolishing the "Rear Admiral" position would certainly be unpopular aboard ship.

Still, it must be a real problem if it can reduce the speed of a vessel by up to 10%.

(read the article? I choose not to and posted this comment anyway)

[Glen 9]

Thanks reg

for completely misleading me as to what the hell the article was about until half way through.

Well done. 2 gold stars.

[Elmer Phud]

Curry night

At last, something to deal with having a foul bottom.

[Anonymous Coward]

On second reading

...I caught another one:

"[and reducing] emission of greenhouse gas in the form of carbon dioxide"

Shirley bottom fouling is better known in relation to other and stronger greenhouse gases, both carbon and sulphur compounds...?

Priceless, truly priceless. The well of material for naughty thoughts is bottomless. *chortle*

[Anonymous Coward]

Presumably

this lil sucker is magnetic?

Or do they roll the ship over and let it drive around??

[Marvin the Martian]

Mission statement

"ensuring warfighting dominance for today's Sailors and Marines [and reducing] emission of greenhouse gas in the form of carbon dioxide".

That, and killing whales with a ridiculous sonar thingymajig.

[Anonymous Coward]

@ eJ2095

"No Frikkin laser beams???"

No, but they are mutated.

And ill-tempered.

It's a start.

[Anonymous Coward]

@ eJ2095

And I prefer flamethrowers anyway.

[TseTT]

old tech!

Hmmm, Yanks late again! :-)

I seem to recall that good old King Henry VIII, had copper sheet nailed below the water line to his wooden warships for that very same reason.

However looking at the price of copper, a multi-million dollar robot is probably cheaper!!

[TimeMaster T]

@eJ2095

"No Frikkin laser beams???"

Dude, its just a proto type, once they have the thing working they'll just slap on the standard FLB kit.

aside;

Funny thing is I designed one of these ten years ago when I was thinking about getting a boat, mine didn't look anything like the picture, it was way cooler, think "lamprey"

[Anonymous Coward]

err..

Isn't bottom fouling why most people join the navy?

[Stevie]

But...

How will the USN keelhaul its misbehaving matelots? The barnacles are the whole point!

They'll be outlawing the cat o' nine tails next.

[Blain Hamon]

re:old tech!

Nono, the copper bottom was to stop shipworms from making a swiss cheese hull. This is about barnacles and the like, which can attach to copper just fine. It's a real drag.

[Robert Hill]

@TseTT

And small robots don't set off magnetically triggered underwater mines, which copper sheathing does very well...

Actually, copper is now considered so dangerous for the marine environment that it's use in antifouling paints and such has been very constrained over the past few years. Something about killing off all the marine life in the harbours if we continued to use it on every boat...

[Cliff]

I had a Viz moment...

Bottom Inspectors, anyone?

[James O'Brien]

@Blain Hamon

"This is about barnacles and the like, which can attach to copper just fine. It's a real drag."

Pun Intended I hope :)

And I am concerned that the wheels might now work too well upside down on the bottom of a ship. . .

[Anonymous Coward]

Bioshock

Looks like something from the game Bioshock.

(no lewd comment - I feel unworthy to post)

[foo_bar_baz]

@matt 58

It would appear that way since the article misses the most interereting part, how it stays with the ship. The PDF offers only a hint, but I guess they don't want to give it away to competitors. It's not a magnet anyway.