It is an auspicious time for this first-ever ISRR special session on the topic of underwater robotics. Underwater robots are now performing high-resolution acoustic, optical, and physical oceanographic surveys in the deep ocean that previously were considered impractical or infeasible. For example: in 2001 the Argo II underwater robotic vehicle, [1], was employed to discover the first off-axis hydrothermal vent field located 15 km from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 30° North Latitude [5]. The dynamics of this important hydrothermal vent site have since been mapped, sampled, and probed extensively with human-occupied submersibles, tethered remotely controlled underwater robots, and untethered autonomous underwater robots [6, 4, 7].
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