b'FOGHORN FOCUSClockwise from left: the Hullbot undersea traversing a ships hull, the pod created for unattended deployment, the robot is small and portable.fler said that if you put a robot in the water and the currentmany applications for these ROVs, they are more akin to pushes it east but its trying to go west, itll will get trickythe gas-powered helicopter and dont have the ability to quickly. Add to that dealing with a curvy or oddly shapedfly themselves. boat that is rocking back and forth in a river in a running tide with wake and seaweed and ropes. You get the idea.Companies like Hullbot are interested in bringing auton-omous technology to underwater robotics. The software However, the state of the industry is progressing rapidly.Hullbot has developed allows their robot to see its envi-Loefler explained that some of the advancements withronment in 3D and make decisions about where it is and flying drones have helped with a new wave of smaller,where it needs to go. In the use of hull cleaning, the robot inspection class ROVs which are human portable. Withcan find the hull and then track their path around complex these robots, the operator on the surface has a tablet andareas such as a rudder or propeller. There is still a human joystick and via the cable to the robot, can swim it aroundoperator supervising the robot, but they could put the con-and control its manipulator (if it has one). While there aretroller down and the robot would continue cleaning for upPHOTO: HULLBOTFOGHORN 22'