"Dream, Dream, Dream! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action."
- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
"Dream, Dream, Dream! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action."
- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
22 Dec 2022
Impossible Metals which builds underwater robotic vehicles has designed the world’s first undersea selective mining robot, Eureka1. This alternative to the dredging technology prevents the loss of biodiversity and massive sediment plumes.
In order to make the shift to a green economy, mining for vital minerals is necessary. Critical metals will continue to be needed for the transition to carbon-neutral energy sources and the majority of them are found on the sea floor.
Seafloors are covered in "polymetallic nodules," a fancy term for stones that contain several distinct metals.
Eureka 1, the hovering robot is designed in a way that, unlike dredging, it doesn’t touch or harm the sea floor. It just hovers above the sea bed. Once hovering above an area of seabed, an AI-powered computer will choose nodules from other matter, and then it will instruct a number of horseshoe-shaped grabber arms on the robot's underbelly to pick them up and feed them into a collection chamber using a hose.
The Eureka 1 successfully distinguished nodules from rocks while diving to a depth of 25 feet in November, and then it used a special buoyancy adjustment engine to bring them back to the surface.
Eureka 1 will prevent the geopolitical challenges of chasing useful minerals in conflict areas or unstable regimes and guarantees a sustained supply of minerals that don't need carbon-intensive mining.
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