China and Russia develop deep sea robot

SHENYANG - China and Russia have combined efforts in their upgrade of the "benthal satellite" - a deep sea carrier robot, which can operate at 7,000 meters below the surface and is expected to go into operation in 2005 report Asia Times.

"China will be able to probe complicated sea areas including deep trenches, and accelerate the pace of exploiting maritime resources," said Wang Tianran, head of the Shenyang Institute of Automation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

A Russian technician participating in the project said that in the foreseeable future, a Chinese submarine carrier robot could probe the world's deepest sea trench - the 10,000-meter Marianas Trench.

Research on the 7,000-meter deep sea robot, with a total investment of 180 million yuan (US$22.5 million), is shared by the China Shipbuilding Industrial Cooperation, the Shenyang Institute of Automation of the CAS, and the Russian Academy of Sciences. Read the full article.