TR Araña
Encyclopedia
The TR Araña meaning route tracing spider is a robot which is claimed to remotely analyse the composition of the ground. The robot is popularly known as Arturito, a Spanish word–play on R2-D2
, and is also known as the Geo-Radar. The device was created by Chile
an inventor Manuel Salinas and was reported to be able to operate at depths of up to 50 metres. It is widely believed by the scientific community to be a fraud—however there has not yet been a thorough independent investigation into either of the claims.
to analyze the elements that have been detected.
At a presentation at the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María
in Valparaíso
, Chile
, on 12 October 2005 Salinas gave fantastic and seemingly irrational theories to explain how his machine worked. Before an audience of students, physicists and engineers he offered the following explanations:
consisting of guns and rocket launchers buried 10 meters. It was also credited with locating the body of Luis Francisco Yuraszeck, a Chilean businessman who had been missing since March 2004, whose body was buried under four meters of cement.
International attention came in 2005 after Wagner Technologies, the funding company behind the development of Salinas's invention, claimed to have used it to find the largest recorded treasure
trove: roughly 600 barrels of gold coins and jewels and would be worth about $10 billion. The treasure is reputed to be buried sp=us 15 beneath the surface of Robinson Crusoe Island
in the Chilean archipelago of Juan Fernández
. The treasure had been seized from the Incas by Spanish conquistadores and buried on the island in 1715 by Juan Esteban Ubilla y Echeverría. Because of its value it had attracted unsuccessful treasure hunters to the island for centuries, which was also where Alexander Selkirk
was marooned — possibly inspiring the Robinson Crusoe
novel.
When Chilean authorities claimed the treasure as government property a standoff developed. Wagner Technologies said it would only disclose the treasure's precise co–ordinates once the government renounced its claim and that it would donate 60 percent of it to Chilean charities. The government did not back down and the treasure remains in dispute and unexcavated.
Salinas has refused to patent the machine saying the technology is "an industrial secret."
R2-D2
R2-D2 , is a character in the Star Wars universe. An astromech droid, R2-D2 is a major character throughout all six Star Wars films. Along with his droid companion C-3PO, he joins or supports Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in various points in the saga...
, and is also known as the Geo-Radar. The device was created by Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an inventor Manuel Salinas and was reported to be able to operate at depths of up to 50 metres. It is widely believed by the scientific community to be a fraud—however there has not yet been a thorough independent investigation into either of the claims.
How it works
Salinas has said that his machine works by searching for materials based on their atomic composition. By programming it with 1,500 different atomic profiles the machine is able to send out a signal and receive it back once it finds the required elements. It uses an algorithmAlgorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...
to analyze the elements that have been detected.
At a presentation at the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María
Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María
thumbnail|right|276px|University frontisThe Federico Santa María Technical University , is a Chilean university situated in Valparaíso, Chile...
in Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, on 12 October 2005 Salinas gave fantastic and seemingly irrational theories to explain how his machine worked. Before an audience of students, physicists and engineers he offered the following explanations:
Discoveries
TR Araña was credited for having uncovered a weapons cache at Colonia DignidadColonia Dignidad
Villa Baviera , formerly known as Colonia Dignidad is a hamlet in Parral Commune, Linares Province, Maule Region, Chile. Located in an isolated area of central Chile, it lies 35 km southeast of the city of Parral, on the north bank of the Perquilauquén River. It was founded by a group of German...
consisting of guns and rocket launchers buried 10 meters. It was also credited with locating the body of Luis Francisco Yuraszeck, a Chilean businessman who had been missing since March 2004, whose body was buried under four meters of cement.
International attention came in 2005 after Wagner Technologies, the funding company behind the development of Salinas's invention, claimed to have used it to find the largest recorded treasure
Treasure
Treasure is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered...
trove: roughly 600 barrels of gold coins and jewels and would be worth about $10 billion. The treasure is reputed to be buried sp=us 15 beneath the surface of Robinson Crusoe Island
Robinson Crusoe Island
Robinson Crusoe Island , formerly known as Más a Tierra , or Aguas Buenas, is the largest island of the Chilean Juan Fernández archipelago, situated 674 kilometres west of South America in the South Pacific Ocean...
in the Chilean archipelago of Juan Fernández
Juan Fernández Islands
The Juan Fernández Islands are a sparsely inhabited island group reliant on tourism and fishing in the South Pacific Ocean, situated about off the coast of Chile, and is composed of three main volcanic islands; Robinson Crusoe Island, Alejandro Selkirk Island and Santa Clara Island, the first...
. The treasure had been seized from the Incas by Spanish conquistadores and buried on the island in 1715 by Juan Esteban Ubilla y Echeverría. Because of its value it had attracted unsuccessful treasure hunters to the island for centuries, which was also where Alexander Selkirk
Alexander Selkirk
Alexander Selkirk was a Scottish sailor who spent four years as a castaway when he was marooned on an uninhabited island. It is probable that his travels provided the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe....
was marooned — possibly inspiring the Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and...
novel.
When Chilean authorities claimed the treasure as government property a standoff developed. Wagner Technologies said it would only disclose the treasure's precise co–ordinates once the government renounced its claim and that it would donate 60 percent of it to Chilean charities. The government did not back down and the treasure remains in dispute and unexcavated.
Criticism
Salinas says that the robot bounces a nuclear signal off materials to search for specific atomic compositions. Consensus exists among scientists that the technology Salinas says is used on the robot works — but only to depths of 30 cm and anything beyond that, such as the dozens of meters he claims to be able to probe, would be considered a technological advance.Salinas has refused to patent the machine saying the technology is "an industrial secret."
External links
- "Mystery Robot Said to Solve Crimes, Find Mines in Chile" (National Geographic News, May 23, 2006)
- "TR Araña: La octava maravilla" (El MercurioEl MercurioEl Mercurio is a conservative Chilean newspaper with editions in Valparaíso and Santiago. Its Santiago edition is considered the country's paper-of-record and its Valparaíso edition is the oldest daily in the Spanish language currently in circulation. El Mercurio is owned by El Mercurio S.A.P...
) (in Spanish) - The Guardian
- New Scientist
- BBC News
- Detailed Image