Comments on: MIT Invents a Swarm of Sea-Skimming, Oil-Collecting Robots

By: Jorge

Jorge — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:10:12 +0000

Wow,

I’m doing a research on water pollution for school.

Thanks for sharing those info, I will for sure check other pages, there are so many!

Jorge

By: chrisitan louboutin

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By: Tyrone Taylor

Tyrone Taylor — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:42:19 +0000

TWTF says:

rabidmob. in response to your statement. The robots could still use solar power if the
unit is underwater by having the solar cells float on top of the water and energy
supplying wire or connector sending power underwater. A self rewinding connector
that could be extended or contracted to and from the solar panel, shortening or
lengthening, the wire.

By: rabidmob

rabidmob — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 02:35:55 +0000

@5: Given that the robots require solar power, they’re unlikely to be successful underwater.

By: Just some thoughts

Just some thoughts — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:53:12 +0000

When there is a disaster that would require these bots to be used, the idea is to keep them working as much as possible, and as long as possible. If the oil is collected instead of burned, it would have to brought to a storage unit and off loaded which would require the bot to be out of commission for ever how long the offloading takes. Then the offloaded crude oil would still have to be processed at a refining facility. The refinaning facilities are often running at capacity because there are not enough of them so this again could slow the process.

As stated, the bots can only get to the floating oil. The recent disaster produced a lot of oil that is more dense than water and therefore sank or did not make it to the surface,, The dispersents used only impacted a percentage of the oil. They need to ctreate an underwater bot that can do the same thing but at depth or even under water and work with the bots on the surface to minimize the use of dispersents.

By: Paul Rogers

Paul Rogers — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:47:04 +0000

would it not be better to collect it that to burn it off, not like we are over stocked with oil, we can aford to waste it.

By: Le Spaz dArgent

Le Spaz dArgent — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 08:15:59 +0000

I’ll feel better about it when they figure out a way to deal with the collected oil other than burning it off, but this is a start. One good idea begets another. Or so I hope.

By: nick

nick — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 02:43:30 +0000

And if these work, we wont need any dispersants to make all that undersea stealth oil.

By: Rhacodactylus

Rhacodactylus — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:58:26 +0000

This might be the best news I’ve heard this week, amazing!