The Chinese-developed underwater robot Tansuo conducted its maiden test dive in the South China Sea on Monday.

The robot is 3.5 meters long and 1.5 meters wide and can dive to a depth of 4,500 meters. It will conduct 20 hours of collaborative operations with the unmanned submersible Faxian in the South China Sea.

The Chinese research vessel Kexue left the port of Xiamen, Fujian province, on Sunday to continue its South China Sea scientific expedition.