For anyone interested in learning a bit more about the deep blue sea, Blueye Robotics has developed something quite unique — a drone that lets anyone go underwater no matter their location.
The robotics company has recently released a prototype for an underwater drone that can go underneath the ocean’s surface up to 150 meters, or the equivalent of 492 feet. This is an astonishing feat, as typical Scuba divers are only able to dive up to 30 meters below the surface, which is just under 100 feet.
Engineers at the Trondheim, Norway-based company developed this machine to be used for both recreational and scientific exploration. Since they have created a way for the unit to withstand extreme oceanic pressure, their only hiccup was creating a sustainable source of light. This is where underwater LED lights came in — considering that they have a typical life expectancy of over 100,000 hours, these bright lights will be able to illuminate everything and anything under the sea.
One of the head creators, Christine Spiten, explained to Venture Beat that the reason it is important to develop something specifically designed for underwater sea exploration is because the ocean is the Earth’s last true frontier. Only about 10% of the ocean’s surface has been explored and mapped, and all light disappears at about 60 meters, or 196 feet, under the ocean’s surface.
The Blueye Robotics drone will feature powerful lights and a high-definition camera perfect for exploring. The best part of this drone is that the camera is able to take pictures in true-color, which is hard underwater. Once light reaches below 16 feet, vibrant colors such as oranges and reds start to disappear and everything looks blue or green. However, this drone camera will be able to take pictures that show exactly how things look in real life, overcoming this murky transition.
“We are offering for the first time in history the ability to see what’s down there,” founder Erik Dyrkoren pointed out. “It’s quite challenging to go that deep. It’s not just a toy. Mechanically, it is a very advanced piece of equipment.”
The drone features a hydrodynamic balancing design that is helpful for navigating in rough currents and isn’t as susceptible to extremely cold temperatures. It can travel at about eight feet a second and is able to transmit live video to people on land.
Blueye Robotics hopes to launch their drone commercially in the beginning of 2018. It will retail for $3,500.
