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Artificial gills unlock long-range underwater robots | What's good for fish may be good for robots, too, as researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon have developed an artificial gill that can extract oxygen from seawater to run fuel cells to power robotic sea gliders on long missions.
What's good for fish may be good for robots, too, as researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon have developed an artificial gill that can extract oxygen from seawater to run fuel cells to power robotic sea gliders on long missions.
It's not very fast, but it is economical and allows the gliders to carry out long missions across thousands of miles to monitor ocean conditions, seek out pollution, and conduct military reconnaissance as they dive to depths of up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft). Along with the membrane, there is a thermal management system to carry away the heat generated by the fuel cell and, ironically, a lithium battery to store power for peak demand periods. "The weight and volume saved can be used for additional hydrogen storage, enabling higher energy density and lower operating costs compared to current battery solutions."
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