Authors: Gregory Dudek, Michael Jenkin, Chriss Prahacs, Andrew Hogue, Junaed Sattar, Philippe Giguere, Andrew German, Hongyu Liu, Shane Saunderson, Arlene Ripsman, Saul Simhon, Luz Abril Torres-Mendez, Evangelos Milios, Pifu Zhang, Ioannis Rekleitis
Abstract: We describe recent results obtained with AQUA, a mobile robot capable of swimming, walking and amphibious operation. Designed to rely primarily on visual sensors, the AQUA robot uses vision to navigate underwater using servobased guidance, and also to obtain high-resolution range scans of its local environment. This paper describes some of the pragmatic and logistic obstacles encountered, and provides an overview of some of the basic capabilities of the vehicle and its associated sensors. Moreover, this paper presents the first ever amphibious transition from walking to swimming.