China sets record for number of operational underwater drones

A Chinese team set a world record for the simultaneous operation of autonomous underwater vehicles. In a pool measuring 50 by 20 meters, 116 TH-618 drones marched in formation.

The record was certified by Guinness World Records representatives. The devices were launched one by one, after which they operated for 34 minutes without human intervention and covered more than 500 meters along a pre-set route.

Key specifications of the TH-618 device:

• Length: 61.5 cm, width: 20 cm, weight: 5.14 kg
• Range: up to 30 km
• Continuous operation time: over eight hours
• Navigation based on machine vision using a mobile phone camera

The drone automatically corrects deviations from its route. For comparison: in the European CoCoRo project, funded by the EU, the swarm consisted of 41 robots.

The main challenge underwater is real-time communication. Getting a hundred devices to maintain formation for an extended period is considered one of the industry's key tasks.

The record was set by Northwestern Polytechnical University together with Xian Tianhe Maritime Technologies. This is a subsidiary of a private defense contractor.

The supplier claims peaceful applications: seabed mapping and inspection of oil and gas pipelines. However, a swarm of a hundred cheap drones with smartphone cameras was likely not prepared solely for pipes.