Aquabotix is a robotics company that specializes in – you guessed it – underwater robots, and it just announced the release of a brand-new product that it’s calling ‘revolutionary.’
The SwarmDiver is referred to as both a “micro unmanned surface vehicle (USV) and unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV)” that’s designed to work, as its name suggests, in a swarm. Military applications will find this UUV useful for swarming methods – a strategic way to perform military strikes from all directions.
Whitney Million, CEO of Aquabotix, says the SwarmDiver is a gamechanger because, prior to its launch, nothing like it existed with the capability of diving on command. The company also stresses the value of technology that allows for multiple robots to be controlled above the surface by a single operator.
According to a press release issued by the company, SwarmDiver will improve amphibious warfare tactics due to its ability to “handle dynamic operational situations, including Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions and sophisticated, coordinated assaults through tracking, trailing, and overwhelming targets.”
Other sources suggest these types of aquatic drones are becoming more popular because they can provide a cheaper, less dangerous option in certain defense operations, almost to the point of acting as auxiliary fleets.
The company says that maritime swarming is a tactic that’s gaining in usage, but that SwarmDiver might also have applications in areas like harbor management, or good, old-fashioned ocean research.
Reference Links:
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aquabotix-releases-revolutionary-swarmdivertm-micro-usv–uuv-300626205.html
- https://www.rand.org/pubs/documented_briefings/DB311.html
- https://sputniknews.com/science/201804121063483612-maritime-drones-robots-sea/