Drone funded by US Navy swims underwater

In November, Rutgers University posted a video online showing a demonstration of The Naviator. News started getting around the Internet throughout December of this unique quadcopter that has the ability to go from air and then submerge in water. The drone was built by a professor at Rutgers’ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering using a $618,000 grant from the US Navy. Professor Javier Diez got the grant after he came forward with the concept, and the USN said it is interested in the potential for the drone to be used to discover mines.

Since this drone is only a prototype, it has some big limitations. Most notably, it needs to be connected to a cable because radio waves have trouble traveling underwater. Very low frequency waves (3 to 30kHz) have been used by submarines in the past and can penetrate 10 to 40m into seawater. However, these low frequencies do not have much bandwidth, which could mean controlling a submerged vehicle via a wireless remote is impractical or not possible. This might hamper enthusiasm for such a device among average consumers and drone enthusiasts who might be looking for a way to explore both sea and air from a distance. It certainly rules out wireless video transmission from underwater. The Naviator is also currently unable to carry a payload.

This kind of cutting-edge technology will obviously not be found among China suppliers anytime soon. However, there are some options for people to prepare themselves for the future of swimming drones. Multiple China suppliers are offering water-resistant drones on Global Sources such as this one that is “capable of landing and floating on water.” It is not the same as full submersion, but it will have to do for now.