Underwater drones

It was nine years ago that we told you about the intriguing Pioneer mini-ROV (underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle), made by Norway's Blueye Robotics. Well, it's now got not one but two more capable siblings, in the forms of the ocean-exploring X3 Ultra and X7.

University of Florida researchers have built BlueME, a magnetoelectric antenna array that lets underwater robots communicate reliably at up to 730 m while drawing less than 10 watts – without acoustic noise or line-of-sight constraints.

Naval warfare goes a bit clingy as Lockheed Martin unveils its robotic Lamprey Multi-Mission Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (MMAUV), which can hitch a ride on friendly ships or submarines by latching onto their hulls to conserve power.

Robotic submarines are poised to become a major addition to the fleets of the world's major navies and as the technology matures more attention is being paid by the likes of the European Defence Agency (EDA) to making them quieter and stealthier.

Blurring the line between biology and robotics, Chinese scientists are taking biomimicry to new depths with a small, low-energy bionic jellyfish that's so lifelike in form and movement it’s almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

The US Navy has tidied up after itself by, for the first time, launching and recovering a Yellow Moray Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) through the standard torpedo tube of a Virginia class nuclear attack submarine.

The Royal Navy is testing how to use robots to seek out and detonate mines and other threats found near vital yet vulnerable undersea cables and pipelines at greater depths than a human diver can safely reach.

The sea of tomorrow might be about as difficult to traverse stealthily as an elephant stomping through a room full of mousetraps thanks to Anduril's Seabed Sentry undersea sensor network that uses AI to autonomously track ocean traffic.

American defense technology company Anduril has rolled out its Copperhead-M – an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) that provides uncrewed subs with the punch of a smart torpedo carrying up to 500 lb (227 kg) of high explosives.

Back in 2019, Chasing Innovation introduced the world's least expensive underwater drone, the Dory. The Chinese company is now offering a new version that comes complete with a joystick remote, metal detector and treasure-collecting net.

Researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) have unveiled a new type of amphibious vehicle that can hover like a drone, take winged flight like a plane, then dive at high speed underwater like nothing else – called the Nezha-SeaDart.

The Chasing X brings a new form factor to mini ROVs, looking a bit like a submersible quadcopter. It's designed mainly for the underwater inspection of things like ship hulls and aquaculture operations, although it can also grab stuff if need be.