24 Underwater Drones – The Boom in Robotics Beneath the Waves

Countdowns
By published

Anti-Lionfish Drones

Underwater Drones

(Image credit: Robots in Service of the Environment)

The deep-diving drone is guided by controllers at the surface to track and close on the invasive fishy enemy, before sucking them into a containment tube and stunning them with an electrical charge – one drone can humanely dispatch up to ten lionfish before returning to the surface with its catch.

Manta Ray Drone

Underwater Drones

(Image credit: Evologics)

The BOSS Manta Ray is an autonomous underwater drone developed by German robotics company Evologics, which specialises in aerospace and maritime robotics.

The drone is designed to mimic the manta's flexible body, which gives it the ability to control its depth very precisely with its large wings, while its "flapping" mode of swimming is very energy efficient. It is also equipped with jet thrusters to give it a high-speed mode.

Robotic Jellyfish

Underwater Drones

(Image credit: Festo)

Like Evologics, some other underwater drone makers technology companies are also looking for ideas from nature – a concept known as biomimicry.

German engineering company Festo has developed its Aquajelly underwater robots to mimic the swimming motions of jellyfish. They can also communicate with each other – something real jellyfish probably can't do – to coordinate their behaviour.

Tom Metcalfe
Live Science Contributor

Tom Metcalfe is a freelance journalist and regular Live Science contributor who is based in London in the United Kingdom. Tom writes mainly about science, space, archaeology, the Earth and the oceans. He has also written for the BBC, NBC News, National Geographic, Scientific American, Air & Space, and many others.