Underwater

A new MIT system is designed for charging batteries to power a network of sensors that would transmit data from the sea floor.

​Let's face it: due to the amount of thrust required to lift a person off the ground, practical personal jetpacks may never exist – at least, not for use in the air. Underwater jetpacks, however, are another story. We've seen a few lately, with one of the latest incorporating a novel backpack unit.

​Fans of the movie Prometheus will recall the probes that were sent into the alien structure, autonomously flying through it to create a 3D map of its interior. Well, something kind of similar is now in development, in the form of an underwater robot that maps the flooded tunnels of abandoned mines.

Ten years ago, François-Alexandre Bertrand had an idea for a novel watercraft that cruised to a site and then lowered its passengers below the water to have a look around. Now the first Platypus Blue Ocean has been sold, and the order books officially opened.

​You know those cool photos that are half-above the surface of the water, and half-below it? They're called split shots, and a new underwater housing is designed to let you take them using a wide variety of smartphones.

More and more people are utilizing their smartphones for underwater photography, but there's a problem with using a watertight housing made just for your device – it's useless when you change phones. The Xpoovv, however, works with a wide range of smartphone makes and models.

​Back in 2013, we heard about an all-terrain walking robot known as RHex. Designed in a collaboration between McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania, it used six flipper-like legs to scamper around. Now, its successor is taking to the briny depths.

Visitors to Norway can now dine both on and with fish in an impressive new restaurant by Snøhetta. Appropriately named Under, the building is part-sunk into the sea and is encased in a concrete shell designed to withstand the harsh conditions on the seabed of Norway's rugged southern coast.

​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 inspiring Underwater Photographer of the Year competition concentrates on the impressive variety of marine photography. This year’s huge selection of winning photographs present a stunning array of images from diving amongst sperm whales to macro snaps of fish eggs.

​It was a couple of years ago that we first heard about the Eelume, an eel-like robot designed to perform underwater maintenance and inspections. Well, the latest version of the device, known as the EELY500, is about to begin sea trials in Norway.

As any scuba diver knows, communicating while underwater is difficult. Although it's possible to use hand signals, you still have to get other divers' attention so that they see those signals. The Oceans S1 Supersonic dive computer is made to address that problem, using an ultrasonic comms system.