Drones That Can Fly and Dive: The Benefit For Manufacturers

It’s almost impossible to go a day without seeing the word ‘drone’ in a headline. These incredible machines are opening up new possibilities for a plethora of industries that would never have thought of the benefit an eye in the sky could provide. From shippers to industrial mines, the possibilities are limitless. However, new drone technology is opening the door to even more exciting prospects. Drones that can fly through the sky, as well as dive deep into water, are starting to catch the eyes of manufacturers everywhere. Now that there are Submarine Drones For Sale, it could be a game changer for a number of companies.

At first the potential of these flying/underwater drones may not be cut and dry, but with a little creative thinking the benefits become clear.

Underwater structures are particularly difficult to maintain. It can be extremely expensive to hire a diver or team of divers to ensure underwater structures are in good, working condition. Dams, pipelines and even offshore-wind farms need to be maintained to avoid any kind of catastrophic environmental disaster. Underwater drones can take off from land, fly to the intended location and dive under water to complete an inspection in a fraction of the time, while also keeping people out of harm’s way. Nuclear power plants might also be able to use these drones to inspect coolant pools and other dangerous areas throughout a facility.

Having the ability to inspect infrastructure multiple stories high without ever having the operator leave the ground or check the status of infrastructure at the sea floor without getting in the water is invaluable. The time and money it will save will have manufacturers jumping at the opportunity to own one of the amazing machines.

However, it may be some time before these drones are available for purchase but the research is underway and the concept has been proven to work.

Loon Copter, a drone that was developed by Oakland University’s Embedded Systems Research Laboratory is one of the amazing drones that can fly as well as navigate under water. The Loon Copter has been around for some time but the University has released a video showing how the drone operates. (see below)

The US Navy has also given $618,000 in grant money to Rutgers University to come up with their own multipurpose drone. The Navy will use the drones primarily for detecting mines but they will also help with underwater ship inspection. (see below)

These incredible drones can offer so much to so many different industries and they are on their way to becoming available to the public. Manufacturers and anyone creative enough to find a use for this technology will be able to benefit greatly. There is not always an obvious application for new emerging technologies, but as time goes on and creative uses are discovered the benefits become crystal clear.

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Sources:

http://news.rutgers.edu/research-news/navy-funds-rutgers-develop-drone-equally-adept-flying-and-swimming/20151022#.VrjRXfk4EdU

http://www.engadget.com/2016/01/26/loon-copter-underwater-drone/

http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2015/12/23/this-drone-can-fly-through-the-air-and-under-water/#gref

http://www.mbtmag.com/videos/2016/02/engineering-newswire-drone-flies-floats-dives-underwater