Sea Glider Powered by Water's Heat

While President Bush says it’s OK for the Navy to kill whales during testing, researchers have launched an awesome sea glider that uses heat from the energy to propel itself. The glider has proven itself by criss crossing the Virgin Island Basin more than 20 times since December. It could keep going for another six months, the researchers say.

“Gliders can be put to work on tasks that humans wouldn’t want to do or cannot do because of time and cost concerns,” said Dave Fratantoni of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Webb Research Corporation.

Implications - Technological advancements in the field of robotics have enabled engineers to create "helper" bots that perform tasks deemed unsafe for humans.