Berlin-based company EvoLogics is a global market leader for maritime surveying and data collection. The gadgets it uses in its autonomous robots are inspired by sea creatures.
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00:00It looks like any other Manta Ray, but it's most certainly not.
00:07This one contains high-tech equipment.
00:10There's the fin steering, of course, but there's also an underwater modem,
00:16there's radio and Wi-Fi communication interfaces,
00:19and there's networking solutions for ocean monitoring.
00:23So far, this Manta Ray is just a prototype showing off the company's capabilities.
00:30If you take a fish and apply pressure to its flank, it pushes back.
00:36What we have here is a very special construction where, too, when you apply pressure,
00:42the wing changes its shape due to the movement of its, let's say, fish bones.
00:49We love the beauty of nature, its forms, its aesthetics,
00:57and the functionality behind it all, but it's not as an end in itself.
01:03There's a technical purpose of everything.
01:07These appliances are shaped to be extremely dynamic.
01:12They have a very low drag in water, it uses very little energy to move ahead.
01:19It's also extremely quiet.
01:22Now, looking at communication technology, we're taking inspiration from dolphins
01:27and we're getting a very robust data connection, and it's all very environmentally friendly.
01:35And this is the company's bestseller, Sonobot, a small catamaran.
01:40It's being used at Berlin's Museum Island today.
01:43The catamaran is using sonar to detect whether water levels here have changed
01:48since the new subway line was built here a year earlier.
01:51It's important information, not least for shipping companies active on Berlin's waterways.
01:57The catamaran's onboard computer uses AI and can even help locate lost items.
02:03Here we can see the depth values.
02:07Like, here it's a bit lighter, which means it's a bit deeper.
02:10What's red here, the water is pretty shallow, we're between two and four meters deep.
02:17Sonobot makes for easy surveying.
02:20The job used to take larger boats with well-stocked crews.
02:27They had knots on a rope, and they would let it down to see how deep the water is.
02:33But in the time it took them to navigate the boat to the next stop,
02:37we're pretty much done with the whole job.
02:39We're a lot more flexible and faster.
02:43These days, Evalogix has around 100 employees and builds one or two sonobots per day
02:49for between 100 and 500,000 euros, depending on their configuration.
02:54Industrial clients from 65 countries use them when building dams,
02:59offshore wind parks, bridges, or to check on pipelines.
03:03They're also used in harbors and to keep an eye on critical infrastructure.
03:08Of course, we're working within a framework of geopolitical and geostrategical developments.
03:14There are special challenges in the Black Sea, the South China Sea, with China, Russia,
03:19that involve maritime solutions.
03:21Maritime safety is a big topic, and we have to deal with it here in Germany and Europe, too.
03:28And he is supposed to help with those challenges, the Quadroin,
03:32another maritime robot inspired by penguins.
03:36Unlike Sonobot, it can dive and collect maritime and environmental data from great depths.
03:42It can be steered by remote control, or it can be controlled by a remote control system.
03:48The Quadroin is designed to help with these challenges.
03:53It's another high-tech solution that's gaining interest in industry,
03:57but also with police and even the military.
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