COSMER The Toulon Laboratory of Underwater Robotics

On the campus of the University of Toulon located in La Garde, the Seatech school brings together engineering students and researchers in marine science and technology. The COSMER laboratory dedicates part of its work to underwater robotics and passes on its knowledge to French and foreign students. Making underwater robots ‘smart’ is part of the challenges of tomorrow’s world.

Underwater robots: Between fantasy and reality

Robots are the subject of numerous fantasies. These machines that humans could make more or less autonomous fascinate us. Underwater robotics is no exception. Underwater robots do not have the humanoid appearance of their terrestrial cousins, except for Ocean One developed by the robotics laboratory at Stanford University (USA – California). Most resemble small vessels with cubic or streamlined shapes and are tethered, connected to the surface by a cable through which energy and information flow. There is no question of losing these technological jewels, sometimes carrying sensors worth several tens of thousands of euros. « In the 1960s, it was thought that we would quickly manage to have a terrestrial robot on wheels move around a room, open and close a door (Editor’s note: the robot Shakey and the Stanford Cart). We are there today, which means it took 60 years of research, » says Claire Dune-Maillard. She is a teacher-researcher at COSMER, the laboratory for the Design of Mechanical and Robotic Systems (University of Toulon). Additionally, Claire Dune-Maillard works closely with IFREMER (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea).