US researchers have developed an underwater treasure hunter
The current prototype of SeaSearcher is being tested in Florida
As any regular Discovery Channel watcher will know, the process of looking for buried treasure often entails sifting through the sand in the hopes of finding gold or silver. However, the SeaSearcher underwater drone may soon direct customers to the loot.
The battery-powered SeaSearcher is currently being developed by Florida startup Seafarer Exploration in working prototype form. It was created by Tim Reynolds, an engineer and CEO of the joint venture Wild Mantra.
The vehicle’s main selling point is its ability to find and distinguish between different kinds of metal buried up to 10 metres (33 feet) beneath the seabed while also transmitting a 3D digital representation of their position.
It’s a closely-kept trade secret how exactly the SeaSearcher is supposed to show you things. The drone may, however, cruise up to 1 m (3 ft) above the bottom and descend to depths of up to 100 m (328 ft), all the while producing electromagnetic and acoustic waves with various modulation formats.
It examines how any buried metal objects are ‘powered’ by those waves using real-time, machine-learning-based techniques. The vehicle can ascertain the sort of metal those items are constructed of, as well as the depth at which they are positioned.
The SeaSearcher is said to have found artefacts made of brass, iron, copper, aluminium, lead and stainless steel during a recent field test at a Florida wreck site. However it has failed to detect any gold or silver so far.
