Yesterday must have been awkward for the team of CSIRO scientists who lost a multi-million dollar robotic research submarine. Very awkward indeed. Great news though: they found it!
Park rangers today discovered a tiny yellow submarine on the beach of Moreton Island near where the submarine was lost yesterday and returned it to the CSIRO post haste:
The autonomous underwater submarine, also known as Starbug, didn’t arrive back at its expected location after mapping seagrass in Moreton Bay off Brisbane, Queensland.
It may sound like an escape, an Apple Maps fail or a timely publicity stunt on the day of Ringo Starr’s Brisbane show. But seriously, we were missing a little yellow submarine.
We are delighted to report that Starbug was found today on Gonzales Beach, Moreton Island. Starbug will be transported back to the mainland tomorrow and reunited with its creator, robotics researcher Matt Dunbabin. Matt is a happy man!
Good to have you back, Starbug!
Thanks to Vanessa Hill over at CSIRO for letting us know it was safe and sound.