iRobot announced it has purchased technology from the University of Washington. Seen here are the components of Seaglider, an underwater AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle).

Seaglider works by diving down and then surfacing. When it surfaces, it’s antennae is in the air and it can determine its position via GPS. It also sends in its data via a satellite and gets any new instructions.

Seaglider is 1.8 m long and weighs 52 kg, a small enough size to launch or retrieve from a small boat by two people.

Helen Greiner, co-founder and chairman of iRobot, said the company has a strong track record of transferring new technology from research initiatives into products that support military missions an stated,

Ten years ago we transformed the original PackBot into a combat-proven robot used today by soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan and licensing the Seaglider from the University of Washington will help our robots conquer new underwater frontiers.

Link to more photos of Seaglider here.

Link via (Engadget)