One of the factors that limit underwater exploration is the fact that the artificially intelligent submarines created for the purpose cannot maneuver without continuously moving forward. MIT's new >underwater robot called Odyssey IV is the first one to have the capacity to hover over a particular location like how a helicopter does. Created by the MIT Sea Grant College Program's Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Laboratory, Odyssey IV can be used to make detailed photography and inspections of underwater flora and fauna and even offshore oil platforms.

"Our old subs needed to swim, to go forward, in order to maintain maneuvering capability," says Chryssostomos Chryssostomidis, director of the MIT Sea Grant Program. "People wanted to be able to work in the ocean and stop and hover to do a specific task. In the past, you could only fly over a scene, take a picture, then fly over again and take another picture. Now, I can stop over a scene that's of interest, and stay and make measurements. We'll be able to observe underwater scenes in much more detail."

The Odyssey IV can go anywhere up to 6,000 meters underwater and can stop anywhere you instruct it to. As long as it has a programmed destination, it can swim to it and stop over the designated location. It also moves quite fast, with a speed reaching up to 2 meters per second. Aside from being able to hover underwater, Odyssey IV is equipped with a mechanical arm that can be used to pick up cargo like samples for scientific studies.

Check out a video of the Odyssey IV in action below.