The underwater minesweeper drone was demonstrated by the Royal Navy this week

Underwater robots that can defuse mines and spy on enemies by themselves are among new technologies being developed with the help of the Royal Navy.

The gadgets could replace manned maritime operations, reducing the cost and risk to life as part of a programme involving the Ministry of Defence, industrial partners and Robots for a Safer World — an initiative led by UK Research and Innovation, the national science funding agency.

A week-long workshop will try to find breakthroughs in the field of under- water operations, which has uses in the defence and offshore energy sectors.

Andrew Tyrer, director of Robots for a Safer World, said: “We want to encourage innovative projects that make trusted unmanned operations the standard approach in areas such as