With Robotics to the Dam Wall

Diving Robot With Robotics to the Dam Wall

2026-05-07 From Source: TU Bergakademie Freiberg | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

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The Scientific Diving Center (SDC) at TU Bergakademie Freiberg (Germany) and the Institute of Computer Science have developed a diving robot that can investigate the safety of dams in places where technology has previously found it difficult to reach: underwater.

Diving robot from TU Bergakademie Freiberg before its first dive at the Malter dam(Image: Andreas Hiekel/TUBAF) — Diving robot from TU Bergakademie Freiberg before its first dive at the Malter dam
(Image: Andreas Hiekel/TUBAF)

Malter Dam near Dippoldiswalde: the massive, slightly curved wall dates back to the imperial era. The gray colossus was built after the Weißeritz flooded unchecked in 1897, sweeping 19 people to their deaths and destroying houses, bridges and railroad lines.

Dams are crucial for the safety of people and infrastructure—and indispensable for the water supply, explains project manager at TU Bergakademie Freiberg Dr. Thomas Grab from the Scientific Diving Center: "In the wake of climate change, it is of course becoming increasingly important to have resilient water available all year round. That is why it is so important to be able to fill the reservoirs accordingly and, above all, to have reliable water all year round."

Better Detection of Damaged Areas Thanks to 3D Model

Gero Licht and Dr. Thomas Grab from the TU Bergakademie Freiberg get the diving robot ready to go.(Image: Andreas Hiekel/TUBAF) — Gero Licht and Dr. Thomas Grab from the TU Bergakademie Freiberg get the diving robot ready to go.
(Image: Andreas Hiekel/TUBAF)

The shallow robot is to complete its maiden dive in the wild at the Malter dam. Gero Licht from the Institute of Computer Science carefully lifts the small robot into the water. A yellow cable transmits the camera images to Gero Licht's laptop. "We later extract the images from the video and create a 3D model of the dam wall," explains the computer scientist. "We do this," adds Thomas Grab from the SDC, "so that we can localize damaged areas as precisely as possible. We can also use the data to automatically identify points of interest."

Diving Robot in Action As First Inspector

At the same time as Gero Licht, Richard Gruhn, research associate at the SDC, is preparing a second camera device. This will be operated by human divers in parallel with the robot during the pilot test. They will accompany the robot on this first dive.

In future, it will be on its own, as a kind of initial inspector looking at the entire dam wall. The team will then use the 3D model to decide which areas to inspect more closely. Thomas Grab: "This allows the diving team to concentrate on critical areas during subsequent missions. This saves time, reduces costs and increases safety."

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