Wave Glider SV3

????流動(dòng)機(jī)器人公司（Liquid Robotics）最擅長(zhǎng)研制的是用海浪提供能源的機(jī)器人平臺(tái)。也就是說，這種機(jī)器人能夠在海浪中獲得電力，推動(dòng)自己在海上行進(jìn)。該公司推出的海浪滑板2號(hào)機(jī)器人（Wave Glider Surface Vehicle 2）去年創(chuàng)下了一項(xiàng)無(wú)人駕駛船只的世界紀(jì)錄，它從美國(guó)舊金山出發(fā)，只花了一年多的時(shí)間就完成了一次9000多海里的跨太平洋的航行，中間所耗費(fèi)的能源全靠它從海浪中自己自足。

????流動(dòng)機(jī)器人公司之所以登上此次海空天博覽會(huì)，不僅僅是由于它的機(jī)器人創(chuàng)下的航程紀(jì)錄。它最新推出的SV3平臺(tái)比去年橫跨太平洋的SV2平臺(tái)長(zhǎng)了2英尺，可以多裝載4倍的傳感器、計(jì)算資源、電池等硬件。該公司的SHARC產(chǎn)品是專門為美國(guó)海軍定制的版本。由于海洋可以為它提供無(wú)盡的能源，而且它自己不會(huì)留下任何雷達(dá)或聲納足跡，因此美國(guó)海軍可以把幾個(gè)SHARC扔到大洋中央，然后就可以經(jīng)年累月地不管它們了。如果有船只或潛艇進(jìn)入它的傳感器感知范圍，它就會(huì)通過衛(wèi)星通知附近艦艇。

Wave Glider SV3

????Liquid Robotics' expertise is wave-powered robotic platforms -- that is, seafaring robots that propel themselves across the ocean by converting energy harvested from the ocean's own waves into propulsion. Their self-sufficient Wave Glider Surface Vehicle 2 set a world record for an ocean crossing by an autonomous watercraft last year when it arrived in Brisbane, Australia, after completing a trans-Pacific crossing that began 9,000 nautical miles away in San Francisco and took just over a year.

????But Liquid Robotics isn't in it for the distance records. Its new SV3 platform is about two feet longer than the SV2 that crossed the Pacific and is now wired up to accommodate something like four times more hardware like sensor payloads, computing resources, or batteries for energy storage. The company's SHARC (that's Sensor Hosting Autonomous Remote Craft) is a version of the aforementioned technology trimmed down and customized for the U.S. Navy. With a limitless power source provided by the ocean itself and no radar or acoustic signature to give it away, the Navy can basically drop its SHARCs in the middle of the ocean and leave them out there for months at a time. If a boat or submarine comes within range of its sensors it can tip off nearby vessels via satellite link.