Korea will develop a 6,000 meter underwater walking robot ‘Crabster’ CR6000 with multiple crab-like legs to excavate shipwrecks or objects of maritime or historical interest. The articulated robot can move at a speed of 0.25 meters per second and identify objects within a distance of 100 meters, even in murky waters. The underwater walking robot can record video at distances of up to 15 meters ahead. According to the Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO), hardware for the ‘Crabster’ CR6000 that can walk or swim with six legs will be complete by the end of the year. Underwater tests will start in the next year.
A smaller Crabster, the CR200, was developed in 2012, and tested to success in 2013. The CR200 can dive to depths of 200 meters, and was deployed at the Sewol Ferry accident scene for a month to provide ultrasonic images to the search teams. The CR200 was also tested for excavating historical objects in waters near Mado, Taean this April and May. The CR6000, once fully developed, will be able to explore Korean waters without any boundaries.
