Swiss start-up invents diving robot for dangerous search and rescue missions.

A Swiss start-up says their underwater robotic drone could keep search and rescue divers out of harm’s way in situations that are too dangerous for people.

The autonomous underwater vehicle has been specially developed for use in challenging or hostile environments like fast-flowing rivers or channels or tidal waters.

"We’re focused really on the most challenging conditions," Tethys Robotics CEO, Joans Wüst told Reuters.

“We at Tethys Robotics developed this next-generation underwater drone, which focuses on compactness.”

The Tethys robot is equipped with cameras and acoustic sensors and can search large areas underwater either completely autonomously or under remote control.

“It's much simpler to just say, well, we need to search that area or inspect that kind of structure. And it does it for you basically,” Wüst said.

Once the robot has located a target, an operator can take control and guides the robot diver to retrieve or simply inspect it.

The Tethys robot can carry up to 40 kg back to the surface.

The team has used artificial intelligence to adapt visual feature recognition software to work with underwater acoustic sensors to cope with limited visibility.

The underwater robot has already been used by several local authorities for underwater search and rescue operations and the ETH Zurich spin-off is now looking for partners in the industrial inspection sector.

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