Submarine

Diving into the autonomous submarine race, DARPA has awarded contracts to three companies as part of its Manta Ray Program. The end goal is to produce robotic vehicles that can operate for months without maintenance or human logistics support.

The British government is investing up to £2.5 million (US$3.2 million) to begin the development for the Royal Navy of an extra-large autonomous submarine measuring 100 feet in length – making it larger than the Boeing Orca XLUUV.

While autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) do make the gathering of oceanographic data easier, launching the things can still be a hassle. That's why scientists have developed a new system that uses an unmanned surface vessel to deploy an AUV.

Leonardo's ULISSES sonar system recently completed a live sea trial off the coast of Italy. By processing signals from up to 64 sonobuoys and dipping sensors, it was able to accurately locate multiple, simulated submarines.

The first expedition to the RMS Titanic in 14 years reveals the famous liner is deteriorating faster than expected.

France has launched the first of its six next-generation nuclear attack submarines in a ceremony in Cherbourg before a crowd of construction personnel and dignitaries. It is the first of the Barracuda class that will replace the French Navy's aging fleet of Rubis-class boats.

Omega Watches set the record for the deepest diving watches as three of its Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional wrist watches strapped to a special manned submersible reached a depth of 10,928 m (35,853 ft) in the Mariana Trench earlier this year.

It’s entirely possible that micro-machines could one day be delivering drugs inside the body, with many designs proposed in recent years. The latest comes from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), which gets around under its own power using a system similar to how submarines rise and sink.

The DSV Limiting Factor submarine has just yo-yoed its way from the surface to the bottom of the Mariana Trench's Challenger Deep point four times in eight days, breaking a ton of records and establishing itself as a reliable deep-sea elevator with unmatched exploration capabilities.

An innovative new method of drawing direct electrochemical energy from seawater means underwater robots, vehicles and detectors could go deeper and longer into the unknown.

​Phytoplankton aren't just evenly distributed throughout the ocean. Instead, they occur in three-dimensional concentrated patches. A new autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is able to find and map those patches, potentially helping to preserve wildlife such as seabirds.

The US Navy has awarded Boeing a US$43 million contract to build four of its Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicles. The 51-ft long unmanned submarines will operate autonomously in blue water with a range of 6,500 nm.