Came across this article from earlier in the year featuring Peter James. James talks drone capabilities and hints that Aquabotix will soon have products able to dive 1km under.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/lif...s/news-story/94ed0703f720e785f5c00730c3b2ce1d
Aquabotix chairman Peter James says underwater drones can be operated from the surface with a fibre-optic cable so that they can be externally controlled. Or they can be untethered for autonomous underwater use.
Untethered drones can be pre-programmed and can work for about eight hours. They can be programmed to periodically return to the surface and transmit data. These underwater drones typically are up to 1m long and have rotors similar to a quadcopter. They can move like a helicopter: up, down and sideways.
James sees unmanned underwater vehicles proliferating in the future. Aquabotix so far has sold 350 to the US Navy, the US Coast Guard, the Royal Canadian Navy and the Pakistan Navy.
Drones can operate in packs below the surface, too. “Out in the open waters, a mother submarine or other large drone with a swarm of smaller drones, potentially with an explosive payload on them, can be programmed to complete the mission. The sensors on them include cameras, sonar, temperature, depth,” James says. He says you could program an underwater drone to constantly patrol within, say, the perimeter of a harbour.
Some 50 to 60 sensors can be attached to an underwater drone. They might test the salinity of the water, chlorine content, or the level of oxygen in the water.
Underwater drones could also do the work of divers. “They’re having to put divers down to inspect dam walls, and to inspect pipes, and to climb into large tanks. We can do that with a vehicle.”
Commercial applications include security, and replacing police divers in the search for a vehicle, a body, or contraband. “You can program an autonomous vehicle to go backwards and forwards until a camera or other sensor discovers something unusual. You can then use a tethered vehicle with a lot of power, including lights.”
Consumers could use an entry-level version to inspect their lobster pots and cray pots. That costs about $1500, while one with more functionality and sensors can cost up to $195,000. He says Aquabotix drones submerge to 300m, but in time will be able to go down 1km.
James sees machine-to-machine warfare between underwater drones as inevitable. “I think that is absolutely likely. One of the drivers for this is the new (Trump) administration in the US that has a program of what they call off-the-shelf products.
“The US Navy has had many years investing in doing R&D in underwater vehicles, but there is now a lot of pressure to use the commercially available ones. There is no reason why you can’t put a payload on one of these,” he says.
His drones are relatively small but larger underwater ones could carry a missile payload. “The US. Navy is already close to doing this.”
