Engineers at MIT want to bring a change in the current scenario with regard to autonomous underwater robots. They want that these robots should be having more decision making power.

However, currently such is not the case, as most of the autonomous underwater robots take on minor tasks. For which their instructors dictate them how to proceed. They instruct the submersibles keeping decision making power with them and robots just perform the task.

But the researchers want that robots should have more and more of the decision-making responsibilities. The robotics scientists have granted cognitive abilities to the autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs owing to which they have been able navigate underwater expanses and carry out research based tasks on their won.

The researchers shared that they just have to dictate the high-level goals and rest of the work can be carried out by the submersible, as they calculate the most efficient path for the task. The technology used in the AUVs is majorly similar to the one being used in self-driving cars.

The researchers in the recent demonstrations used a newly programmed underwater glider to see whether it is able to carry out its own task while remaining away from the remote-controlled submersibles in the same area.

Brian Williams, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, stated, “We wanted to show that these vehicles could plan their own missions, and execute, adapt, and re-plan them alone, without human support. With this system, we were showing we could safely zigzag all the way around the reef, like an obstacle course”.

Williams said that they provide the system choices and then the system makes those choices, but it has to be ensured that the task is completed within the time limit and it does not collide anything in the way.