Researchers from Oakland University's Embedded Systems Research Laboratory built a drone that can seamlessly transition from aerial flight to diving and swimming.
Dubbed the Loon Copter, the drone was built for the Drones for Good competition, which is held in Dubai February 4-6 and comes with a grand prize of $1 million.
The drone project started in 2014 and just recently was able to demonstrate the ability to fly, dive, and swim. This could be good news for drone aficionados who are sick of losing their UAVs to lakes and other bodies of water.
The drone is equipped with a cylinder that hangs below its air frame. The cylinder, when filled with air, provides the drone with buoyancy so it can transition from aerial flight to floating on water with ease.
The cylinder can also pump out the air, allowing it to fill with water and sink, giving the drone the ability to go diving. It then uses the same propellers used to navigate in air to swim in the water.
The drone can then pump out the water to return it to the surface and fly away.
