Underwater

When it comes to shooting 360-degree interactive video, the Insta360 Pro 2 is quite a capable camera … but it can't go underwater. That's about to change, however, with the release of the Mantis Sub housing.

MIT scientists have developed an acoustic system that acts like an underwater GPS, yet doesn't need batteries to operate. The system is instead powered by modulated audio signals reflected from the environment to provide net-zero energy positioning info.

Scientists exploring the Great Barrier Reef have discovered a huge, never-before-seen coral reef, taller than the Empire State Building. Standing detached, the massive structure is the first new reef to be discovered in the area in over 120 years.

From a record number of submissions, the 16th Through Your Lens photo contest delivers a world-class selection of the best underwater photography, from an incredible look inside a whale shark’s mouth to an amusing portrait of a smiling porcupine fish.

Data centers require heavy-duty cooling and maintenance. Microsoft has now finished a two-year test of an unconventional solution – dropping a data center to the bottom of the sea – and found that it was more reliable than land-based facilities.

More than 10 years ago, François-Alexandre Bertrand came up with a concept for a novel above/below watercraft named the Platypus. The first Blue Ocean edition was sold last year and now his company has launched a new version, the Platypus Swordfish.

Fabien Cousteau, grandson of famed underwater filmmaker and scuba co-inventor Jacques Cousteau, is planning to build an underwater living habitat and research station three times the size of any ever built, named after the grandson of Poseidon.

In recent years, fish farms have increasingly started using underwater ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) for cleaning the nets that enclose their fish pens. A relatively new one, the StealthCleaner, has a unique triangular form factor.

Radio waves travel poorly through the water, which makes it difficult for divers or submersibles to wirelessly transmit information to the surface. Scientists are trying to change that, though, by developing an underwater version of Wi-Fi.

Dutch submersible maker U-Boat Worx has unveiled what's claimed to be the lightest manned submersible ever built. The Nemo can be towed on a trailer by car for launch from shore, or hauled onto a yacht for underwater fun at sea.

Marine aquaculture pens have to be regularly checked for holes, plus the fish need to be inspected for parasites. And although the job is typically performed by human divers, it turns out that a robotic sea turtle may be a better choice for the task.

Although autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are electrically-powered, they're launched from fuel-burning surface vessels. A new, more environmentally-friendly system is being designed to replace those ships with wave-powered underwater AUV stations.