A new robotic humanoid diver was revealed, fully equipped with articulated hands which is designed to become an underwater avatar to explore the mysterious ocean world in such a way similar to a human, only this time, its controller is safely up at the surface.

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Researchers from Stanford University designed this humanoid robot at five feet long which also utilized artificial intelligence and haptic technology, communicating and simulating to the controller anything it touches, to experience the feeling what the robot is touching.

The front part of this submersible vehicle resembles a human however, its rear part includes digital computing systems, batteries and thrusters.

This humanoid avatar slash submersible underwater vehicle is known as OceanOne that has been designed and developed by Oussama Khatib who specializes in autonomous robotics research.

For its first trip underwater, OceanOne explored a 17th centure shipwreck, the flagship of King Louis XIV that sank in 1664, some 20 miles off the coast of France where Khatib controlled the robot diver and examined an ancient vase where it safely placed the relic into a basket, some 300 feet below the ocean depths.

According to Khatib in the video, this type of underwater exploration brings new capabilities as OceanOne presents breakthrough technology demonstrating this innovation by manipulating objects such as a red basket. He says that the purpose of this technology is to use this as a tool, as a diver, diving virtually to create a robot that can physically represent a human.

He describes that since this submersible vehicle possesses two hands, it also has stereo vision and the most remarkable feature of this robot is that the controller can feel what the robot is doing underwater, while you remain sitting up on a boat.

Stanford researchers also revealed that this diving humanoid is designed to venture and explore deeper regions of the ocean that can be too dangerous for human divers, such as completing maintenance in an oil rig, as humans can stay safely on the surface, from a safer distance.