(Gizmodo) As the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 comes to a frustrating and unsuccessful close, the likelihood of locating the plane’s final resting place are astronomically small. However, where an international fleet of search vessels and scanning satellites have failed, this autonomous submarine from Bluefin Robotics could very well succeed.
The Bluefin-21 is a torpedo-shaped autonomous undersea survey vehicle measuring 17 feet in length, nearly two feet in diameter, and weighing just over 1,700 pounds. Designed specifically for deep water exploration, the Bluefin-21 can dive 14,700 feet below the waves in search of its quarry-from submerged archaeological sites to maritime wreckage to unexploded military ordnance-and operate for up to 20 hours at a time.
