Researchers at Rutgers University Developing a Drone That Can Fly and Swim

The next step in drone technology will bring drones to the 71% of our planet’s surface that, until now, has been inaccessible to flying machines. The Office of Naval Research has presented researchers at Rutgers University with a grant to fund the development of a drone that will be capable of transitioning from flying in the air to swimming underwater with ease. This technology will assist the Navy with search and rescue missions, defusing underwater mines, and investigating spreading oil spills.

The below video shows the progress that has been made on developing these drones. While the prototype shown navigates much faster and more effectively in the air than underwater, the goal is to create a drone that will be “equally adept at both.”

“By next summer,” Professor Javier Diez of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering explains, “we plan to demonstrate a vehicle that can swim in a seawater environment and do complex maneuvers.”

What drone technology will they think of next? Drones that can fire guns? Drones that can build houses? Drones that can provide internet access?

The possibilities are truly endless.




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