By Sheena Amos
ABU DHABI: A flair for science, creativity and ambition led students Amira Sulaiman, Shamsa Al Mansouri and Sarah Al Amri to develop a multi-task, multi-purpose ‘smart submarine’.
According to the students, the submarine utilises the latest developments in maritime navigation. It is equipped with sensors that measure the water temperature and the levels of salt and alkalinity, and provide accurate readings for the environment.
It can provide a rich data source for maritime navigation and the environment on the sea floor, which will enable explorers and specialists to deal appropriately with the sea’s environment, contributing to the production of accurate and beneficial data for serving navigation, they added.
The project was under the supervision of Dr. Khawla Al Kaabi, Head of the Geography Department and Executive President for Innovation at UAE University.
The submarine collects accurate data through a sonar that draws systemised and high-quality geographical maps of the sea floor, measures the degree of salt and alkaline in the water, and provides co-ordinates for different routes through the bottom of the sea, contributing to advances in maritime navigation, Dr Al Kaabi said, reports Wam.
According to Dr. Al Kaabi, the submarine can follow the activities of underwater teams, observe the work of maritime piracy, defeat the plans of pirates and detect petroleum leaks on the sea floor, as well as study and determine types of seaweeds, generate electricity from sea salt and search for missing bodies.
The project is displayed at the on-going International Defence Exhibition and Conference (Idex 2017) in Abu Dhabi. The smart submarine was developed for military use, she further added.