Key points
- Impossible Metals’ Eureka 1 autonomous underwater vehicle completed a fully autonomous test in Collingwood Harbor, Ontario, using its vision system to identify rocks on the seafloor, picking them up with a robotic arm and claw, and returning them to the surface.
- The May 2023 demonstration marked what the company calls a major milestone toward a full-scale deep-sea mineral harvesting system designed to collect polymetallic nodules while avoiding macrofauna.
- The next-generation vehicle, Eureka 2, is planned to test AI that detects and avoids macrofauna such as deep-sea sponges and corals, while leaving enough nodules behind to keep the habitat functioning.
- A separate team in Pasadena, California is developing bio-extraction, using bacteria to leach metal from rock instead of high-temperature, chemical-based processing, and reports improved metal recovery rates.
