DARPA seeks crawling, burrowing river-recce sub bot

US weapons'n'rockets company Alliant Techsystems (ATK) has won a small military contract related to a planned underwater robot. The Unmanned Underwater Riverine Craft (UURC) will carry out "clandestine surveillance tasks in riverine and shallow water environments" using "bottom locomotion (crawling)" mode and "burrowing" …

[Anonymous Coward]

Cold war again

Very cold variety actually. Neva, Enissei, Lena, Pechora, Volga, Ob, Amur... shall we continue? OK... my drift (downstream) is probably clear...

[Ian Ferguson]

Hurrah!

'UURC' is a fantastic name, although UURGH would be even better. I do like the Department of Awesome yet Ridiculously Pretentious Acronyms.

[Martin Lyne]

I think

They should seriously consider a homogonised robot system. Rather than have one for flying one for swimming one for butrrowing and all that. Who want's to find themselves in a pinch and have the OTHER kinds of robots for the job they wanted?

Take five distinct robots into the shower? Not me.

[Anonymous Coward]

harvest power ?

Will it use the mud to generate energy from bio gas?

[Warhelmet]

Let me be the first...

to welcome our new underwater overlords.

[Lee T.]

power generation?

drill into the seabed and use water currents?

oh and "the only place to keep your brain is in a bubbling jar remotely linked to a huge, powerful robot or brainchipped-gorilla body."

Gold!

[P.Nutt]

Could have named it better

They could have spent 5 mins naming it something like

PISS-SOF - Precision Interdiction Strike Suite for Special Operations Forces

STINC U - Submergable Tacticel INtelligence Command Unit

PENIS - Portable ENemy Intel System

Yeah Pass my jacket I am just going home!

[Disco-Legend-Zeke]

re power generation

in fast or slow moving streams, the power is there for the spinning the big problem with must underwater hyrroelectric projects (usually for ocean currwents) is that they are too big.

what's needed is muffin-fan-sized turbines that can be trown away as they clog with marine inhabitants. For a bottom crawling droid, fins may bwe all that's required.

paris wants hers in pink, please.

[Anonymous Coward]

Tsk, no vision

Wake me up when they want a Flying Unmanned Underwater Riverine Craft . Or, for maximum acronym fun, Flying Underwater Riverine Craft, Unmanned

[Anonymous Coward]

Already solved !

"bottom locomotion (crawling)" mode and "burrowing"

"evasion procedures underwater (maneuver, burrowing, use of obscurants, hibernation mode"

Services already well supplied by lawyers. Just sink a few for best effect.

[Oldfogey]

Abysmally Conceived, Redundantly 'Orrible Names - Yet More!

DARPA have all of Leonard of Quirms talent for naming their projects!

[Anonymous Coward]

Yipes...

...I hope they don't have to produce a working prototype for $500k!