Students have built hybrid drones that can seamlessly transition from flying to swimming in the water.
The students developed a practical prototype of a hybrid drone for their bachelor’s dissertation at Aarbor University, Denmark, and recently shared a video of the drone’s operation.
In the video, the drone takes off next to a large pool of water, then flies through the water soon after. It then shoots straight out of the water and moves under the surface for a few seconds before flying again. The video shows the drone doing tricks several times from different angles.
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Andrei Copaci, Pawel Kowalczyk, Krzysztof Sierocki and Mikolaj Dzwigalo achieved this remarkable air-to-water transition by using a variable pitch propeller with a blade that can be rotated to different angles for all different environments.
“The development of underwater drones in the air is a major step forward in robotics, showing that the use of various pitch propellers allows a single vehicle to operate effectively in both air and water,” the student told Live Science in a joint email.
This is not the first air-water hybrid drone to be built. Researchers at Rutgers University, New Jersey, developed a hybrid prototype that could perform similar actions in 2015, while Chinese scientists showed off a drone that would move from air to water in 2023.
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Students designed, built and tested drones over two semesters at the university, according to a LinkedIn post, Petar Durdevic, an associate professor who leads the offshore loan and robotics research group at Aalborg University.
They began by modeling the drone and designing a variable pitch propeller system. The blade angle, or propeller pitch, is higher when flying, increases airflow, but lowers underwater, minimizing drag and increases efficiency. The propellers can also provide negative thrust to enhance maneuverability underwater, students said.
The team used a 3D printer and a computer numerically controlled machine (another automated manufacturing equipment) to obtain the parts needed for the build and program the drone with custom software. Finally, they moved on to the test.
“I was surprised at how seamlessly the drones transitioned from water to air,” the student said.
While new drones are just a single prototype, these types of technology have a variety of potential real-world applications, from emergency response to war. “Some applications are military, ship inspections, marine exploration, search and rescue,” the student said.
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