What is an autonomous underwater drone. Underwater drone - what is it for and which model is better. iBubble underwater drone

Back in 2015, the supervision of underwater unmanned systems was assigned to the Assistant Deputy Minister naval forces USA. In October 2016, the US Navy participated in the international exercise Unmanned Warrior off the coast of Scotland. During maneuvers autonomous submarines worked in cooperation with drones in the air, exchanging intelligence, and then broadcasting it to the formations ground forces, tells The Washington post.

“The US Department of Naval Research (ONR), which develops advanced technologies in the field of unmanned underwater vehicles, plans to deploy the “Eisenhower backbone network” on seabed in all areas of the oceans, ”said the head of this department, Rear Admiral Matthias Winter, at a conference organized by.

According to the admiral, the ultimate goal should "be a large-scale deployment of unmanned underwater vehicles."

“We want such vehicles to go to sea on a mission once and then operate in the depths of the seas for decades,” added Matthias Winter.

While this large-scale project "Eisenhower's network" is at the stage of the discussed concept. The US Navy proposes to create a system of underwater stations at the bottom of the seas and oceans in a historically foreseeable period Maintenance. There is already an official name for it: a forward-based system for reloading, communications and maintenance of underwater unmanned vehicles.

“These will be points where it will be possible to obtain fuel for unmanned underwater vehicles or charge vehicles, receive or transfer necessary information, as well as store data, ”Frank Herr, head of the Naval Research Department, told reporters.

Already, the Pentagon is testing submersibles that can operate for many weeks or even months in one trip to the sea.

In his opinion,

while Russia and China are investing huge amounts of money in the large-scale construction of submarines of the most different classes The Pentagon is aiming to take the lead in unmanned underwater technology.

“The Pentagon recognizes that the United States, due to its geostrategic position, is simply vital to conduct submarine warfare and carry out anti-submarine defense much better than any other country in the world does, ”stated in an interview with The Washington Post Researcher Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments Brian Clark.

According to Clark, the ultimate goal is for the US Navy to have unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) deployable from conventional (inhabited) submarines, and eventually from large autonomous submarines. Clark compared this deployment of underwater drones to a situation where jet fighters take off from aircraft carriers.

China and other countries have deployed sonar anti-submarine systems on the seabed to detect and identify submarines.

However, such systems, according to Clarke, are capable of detecting large manned submarines, but they are ineffective against relatively small unmanned underwater vehicles.

“The trend towards robotization of all types of armed forces and branches of service will only grow, and with acceleration. The withdrawal of a person from the battlefield is a fundamental trend, and every effort must be made to ensure that the Russian army does not miss this revolution,” states Makienko.

"Simply fantastic", "there is nothing like it in the world." Thus, in his annual Address to the Federal Assembly, Vladimir Putin described latest developments Russian military-industrial complex. BUT domestic gunsmiths the head of state called them "heroes of our time".

Satan's older brother

To begin with, the president gave some statistics. Yes, armament Russian Strategic Missile Forces received 80 new intercontinental ballistic missiles, 102 ICBMs for submarines, and with them 3 strategic submarines of the Borey project. Plus a number of high-precision cruise missiles increased by more than 30 times, and the number of carriers for these weapons - by 12 times.

As for the development of new missiles for the domestic "nuclear shield", the promising ICBM "Sarmat" is on the way. It is capable of hitting a target anywhere in the world. Moreover, if now Russian ballistic missiles fly only through the Northern Arctic Ocean, then "Sarmat" can reach the target from an unexpected direction: from South Pole. In addition, the rocket is equipped with the most modern complex missile defense breakthrough.

They won't be chased

Sensational statement of the president: in the arsenal Russian army has already hypersonic weapons. Prospective tests aviation complex"Dagger", which flies 10 times faster than sound, is complete. Since December 1 last year, the rocket has been undergoing experimental combat operation in the troops of the Southern Military District.

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"Kinzhal" is capable of hitting a target at a distance of more than 2,000 kilometers with a conventional or nuclear warhead. Moreover, he is not afraid of air defense and missile defense systems, since their missiles simply cannot keep up with hypersonic weapons.

And even more so, no missile defense system will catch up with a planning winged warhead. It is twice as fast as the Dagger and has a speed of up to Mach 20. In the dense layers of the atmosphere aircraft warms up to 2 thousand degrees Celsius. However, the latest composite materials developed by domestic specialists do not allow it to collapse.

Rocket stayer

Another one Russian rocket, which Vladimir Putin spoke about, cannot boast of fantastic speed. Her forte is "long-distance running." More precisely, unlimited, since instead of the traditional chemical engine, it is equipped with a nuclear power plant. Successful tests stayer rockets passed in 2017.

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The emergence of such technology allows you to create a completely new strategic weapon. It will be able to stay in the air indefinitely, fly along an unpredictable trajectory to anywhere in the world and strike from the most unexpected direction. If an enemy missile defense system gets in the way of a missile, it will simply fly around it. Enough fuel.

Intercontinental strategic robots

Faster, deeper, farther - these are the main distinguishing features of promising unmanned submarines. The President said that underwater drones are capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads. Therefore, they can be used to destroy any targets: from entire aircraft carrier strike groups to ports and coastal bases.

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In 2017, tests of a compact nuclear reactor were completed, which will supply energy to promising drones. It turned out to be 100 times smaller than power plants conventional submarines, and gains maximum power 200 times faster.

death rays

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And, finally, a completely expected event - the Russian armed forces are receiving combat lasers, Vladimir Putin announced. Deliveries began in 2017. The head of state did not disclose other details about the beam guns. He only specified that the appearance laser weapons in the army will significantly expand Russia's capabilities while ensuring its own security.

Drones are called unmanned devices controlled remotely - it can be flying, floating or any other robot controlled from a distance. For example, such machines are widely used by civilian and military sappers. Underwater drones are mainly used by scientists and rescuers to study sea ​​depths.

An ordinary person can also acquire a similar "toy" - the most common product, abundantly present on the market, can be called different kind multicopters. As a rule, products are equipped with video cameras or other sensors that help to control the tasks performed.

Drone types

Underwater drones are not as common as air or ground drones, however, at the time of 2015, the technology is being actively developed by private and military companies, since, unlike a weak and living person, the mechanism is able to carry heavier loads, and if it breaks, it will always can be repaired, this industry can be considered very promising. Of course modern models far from perfect, and their cost is fabulously high, however, like any new product that appears on the market. However, already now there are quite effective products that allow you to perform a number of complex tasks.

All remote controlled underwater models Techniques can be divided into 3 broad categories:

• military drones- serve to neutralize sea mines, patrol the territory of the parking of warships, for investigative and rescue purposes in case of flooding of ships and other objects of value to the military
• research- used by scientific expeditions to study the depths of the sea, caves, and other geological underwater formations, it is also used to take soil samples and monitor the underwater biosphere.
• industrial — this species Drones are mainly used to service underwater elements of structures and communications.

Trident civilian underwater drone

On the this moment, OpenROV is actively promoting its version of the underwater drone - it is worth highlighting it as the most advanced product available ordinary people. The device received the proud name "Trident" (Trident). The trident is considered the fastest robot, it develops a speed comparable to the speed of 8 times Olympic champion in swimming, Michael Phelps - yes, these are the characteristics that the developers of the device themselves brought.

Another distinguishing feature of the model is its high maneuverability, which allows you to stop and turn it around in a matter of seconds. Such qualities can be useful in extreme situations, for example, if you need to quickly find a drowned person or dodge a collision. David Lang and Eric Stackpole, who invented the subject of discussion, conducted a successful experiment by connecting a controller from game console PlayStation 4, streaming video to a monitor and VR goggles from Google.

As for the depth of immersion, it exceeds the hundred-meter mark allowed for ordinary person. The creators have already conducted research on several deep-sea areas, in particular, the project was born as a desire of two friends to check the veracity ancient legend, which said that in 1800, in California, a group of Native Americans hid a certain amount of gold on great depth. This event received a response in the media, and was consecrated in USA Today.

Today, there are wireless and wired options. One of distinguishing features project is open source. In fact, any engineer can use the blueprints found on the site to build their own Trident, which has made technology development difficult to track, since it is not known how many modifications there are in the world. For the rest, the product is sold here, at a price of $849.

Practical application of underwater drones

The US Army has long used various kinds of unmanned vehicles. As a rule, underwater options are designed to conduct reconnaissance, detect enemy submarines, or work with mines. However, in a civilian environment, devices have a much greater potential for use. Robots are largely capable of facilitating research projects related to the study of hard-to-reach areas of the ocean, small caves that a person simply cannot go into. Dozens of researchers have put into practice the product from OpenROV - the official website of the company even has a section on the work done, with marks of areas on the map.

Another promising industry is education. In an interview, David Lang, founder of OpenROV, said that he was looking forward to the day when any student could look at the contents of the ocean without leaving the classroom. Natural science, biology, history are only a small part of the sciences to which such technologies will contribute.

Repair and maintenance of equipment located under the depths. As a rule, these are cables and transport pipes. Getting to them is quite difficult and expensive. In extreme situations, using a controlled robot is ideal for troubleshooting and damage detection.

Underwater drones in the military industry

In 2014, the US Navy conducted more than 20 tests of unmanned combat submarines. According to the Department of Defense, almost all tests were failed due to the imperfection of products manufactured by Lockheed Martin, one of the largest American contractors. The main task of the drones was to safely detonate mines, however, during the testing process, malfunctions in the remote control system were constantly encountered. At the same time, according to Joe Dougherty, who is a spokesman for Lockheed, at the moment their system can be considered the most advanced in the world, in addition, he noted that when testing drones, representatives of the Navy exceeded allowable restrictions for the device.

The US government was going to allocate $ 864 million for the purchase of underwater unmanned combat vehicles, but a string of setbacks since 2010 calls into question the continued funding of the program and the existence of drones in the form in which they are now.

Industrial underwater robots

The laying of fiber optic networks on the ocean floor, through which 90% of the Internet traffic in the world passes, is carried out using special mechanisms. Essentially, this autonomous robots that perform their predetermined tasks. In part, they are controlled by operators from ships, however, most of work is done according to the program, nested in advance. Such devices cannot be called full-fledged drones, since in fact they are just a machine, like those that assemble cars or TVs in factories. Looking from a different angle, they can be safely called the fathers of modern underwater drones, a kind of founders of the movement, inspirers.

Such machines are equipped with 6 degrees of freedom and end with either grips or a nozzle for a specific operation, such as a welding electrode or cutting shears. Perhaps the most famous and successfully used robot is robot sawfish(drank fish). The task of the robot is to cut down trees that were once flooded. He cuts them with a chain saw (its length is 1.5 meters). Before cutting, the robot screws an air balloon into the tree trunk at a distance of 15 cm from the cut, which brings the tree to the surface. The apparatus controlled by the operator through the cable from the surface of the reservoir, through the cable (200 meters long) power is supplied to all systems.

Problems and disadvantages of underwater drones

According to Professor George A. Bekey, who specializes in computer science, electrical engineering and biomedical engineering, unlike ground and air drones, their underwater counterparts have huge problems in providing stable communications. This is due to the presence of water around the device, which greatly distorts the signal. In addition, at the time of 2012, the US Navy did not have an acceptable power source capable of operating efficiently for a long time. Precisely in 2012, Navy emphasizes the development of technology capable of performing more than one task at a time, but as already mentioned above, projects still face the same navigational problems.

conclusions

Looking at modern advances in robotics, it becomes clear that underwater drones are far from their ground and air counterparts. At the same time, it is safe to say that at the current rate of technological development, humanity is waiting for many achievements in this area. There are always many difficulties on the way to excellence and efficiency, but looking back at history, it becomes clear that there are no insurmountable obstacles, and there are always people who can break stereotypes and take the right step towards success.

What will be the capabilities of unmanned vehicles in 10 years? Ways to use drones to repair equipment and extract valuable resources are already being actively developed, and although we can’t do without a person yet, our descendants may not have to take risks. own life working in hazardous conditions.

US authorities have confirmed the existence of a project for a Russian unmanned submarine capable of inflicting nuclear strike across the United States. This conclusion was reached by the American media after analyzing the 47-page text of the draft of the new US nuclear doctrine.

“In addition to the ongoing modernization of the Soviet nuclear legacy, Russia is developing new nuclear warheads and launchers. These attempts include updating every component of the nuclear triad: strategic bombers, sea and ground-based. Russia is also developing at least two new intercontinental strike systems, a hypersonic glider and a new strategic nuclear submarine autonomous torpedo.

It's about about the project of the nuclear robotic system "Status-6". Earlier, the US authorities did not confirm the information about the existence of this secret Russian project. At the end of 2016 official representative The Pentagon's Jeff Davis said: "We are closely following the development of Russian submarine technology, but we will not comment on it." However, "Status-6" was still assigned an index according to the NATO classification - "Canyon" (Kanyon).

The storm of American power

It is generally accepted that for the first time about "Status-6" it became "accidentally" known from a presentation for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The "Secret Slide" was shown on November 9, 2015 at one of the meetings on the development of the military-industrial complex.

“Indeed, some secret data got into the camera lens, so they were subsequently deleted. We hope that this will not happen again,” Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, commented on the “leak”.

However, Russian and foreign analysts were not inclined to trust the Kremlin speaker's explanation. The point of view was established in the expert community that Moscow deliberately allowed the demonstration of the Status-6 project to the general public. This may indicate that the development of an underwater drone is nearing completion.

In the West, they fear that the deadly drone could become another "nuclear trump card" in the sleeve of Moscow. In such a situation, the United States will have to increase military spending, inventing new methods to counter the Russian nuclear submarine fleet.

In Russia, the Status-6 project is perceived as an additional and very effective tool containment of the United States. Considering the potential power of this atomic drone warhead, analysts conclude that the project is Moscow's asymmetric response to Washington's policy. So destructive weapon crosses out the US efforts to improve the global missile defense system and create some kind of superweapon against the Russian Federation.

It is assumed that "Status-6" will ensure the guaranteed defeat of the naval bases of the overseas superpower. The berths of American submarines carrying intercontinental ballistic missiles are mainly under threat. American missile carriers can be hit by Russian drones both during combat duty in the oceans and while at the dock.

In addition, "Status-6" can become a weapon doomsday. In case of start nuclear war drones will strike at American cities, which are extremely vulnerable to submarine fleet Russian Federation, as they are located on the coast of the oceans.

Of course, in response to the appearance of "Status-6" in the Russian Navy, the United States may short time create a similar nuclear drone (it is quite possible that the Americans are already developing it). However, it is obvious that the effect of its use against the Russian Federation will not be comparable. Almost all big cities Russia is located inside the continent.

Heir Soviet tsar-torpedo

In "Status-6" Russia de facto embodies the idea of ​​the times cold war about the creation of the tsar torpedo ( soviet project T-15), capable of delivering a nuclear charge to the US coast. However, the T-15 is only a distant prototype of the Russian "Status-6", which will be distinguished by a developed artificial intelligence. This robotic drone will be as autonomous as possible from its operator.

From the earlier “leak”, it follows that the Russian underwater drone, equipped with a mini-nuclear reactor, will perform tasks at a distance of up to 10 thousand kilometers, diving to a depth of one kilometer. "Status-6" will be placed on the nuclear-powered "Belgorod" project 949AM "Antey" and "Khabarovsk" project 09851. Both submarines are under construction, which is expected to be completed in 2020.

The length of the drone will be 24 meters, and combat module- 6.5 meters. The speed of the device is amazing. It is claimed that it can reach 90 knots (166 km/h). For comparison, the American MK-48 torpedo has a speed of 55 knots. Such speed characteristics do Russian drone immune to interception.

Technical support and the repair of Status-6 will be carried out by the experimental diesel-electric submarine B-90 Sarov of project 20120 and auxiliary vessels of project 20180 Zvyozdochka. The development of the drone is carried out by the St. Petersburg Central Design Bureau of MT "Rubin" - the flagship of the design ideas of the Russian Federation in the field of the submarine fleet.

At the moment, only one test of "Status-6" is known. In December 2016, The Washington Free Beacon, citing US intelligence data, reported that in the fall, a drone was released into the sea from the Sarov. There is no information about test results.

In November 2017, The National Interest published an article by analyst Michael Peck entitled “Russia is creating a very strange weapon- underwater intercontinental ballistic missiles. The author of the material doubts that Moscow is capable of developing a nuclear-powered drone that meets the characteristics stated in the media.

"On the ocean depth a thousand meters there are many seamounts and canyons (one American nuclear submarine almost sank when it collided with such a mountain at a depth of 160 meters). How, then, will the Status-6 torpedo swim 10,000 kilometers without crashing into some rock if it does not have an ultra-modern navigation system, or if a kamikaze navigator is not put at the helm? ”, Peck asks rhetorically.

Indeed, St. Petersburg designers will have to solve a lot the most difficult tasks. Domestic experts admit that Russia is far behind the United States in the development of autonomous underwater systems and artificial intelligence. At the same time, one should not underestimate the capabilities of the same Rubin. At least in the West, they are convinced that Russia is making every effort to close the gap in air and underwater drones.

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Fishing is reaching a fundamentally new level of development. Recently, a presentation of a new and in all respects unique drone took place, which will make fishing more efficient and interesting than ever.

Fishing was one of the first ways to get food for a reasonable person and one of the most effective. Since ancient times, fishing has come a long way, changing from century to century. And when, it would seem, it would no longer be possible to come up with something more ingenious than a fishing rod and a spinning rod, the engineers still found something to please and surprise. So the craftsmen from PowerVision Robotics Corporation decided to make fishing in the 21st century a bit robotic. The result of their work was the latest underwater drone called PowerRay Underwater Robot. The novelty was presented at the consumer electronics show CES 2017, which traditionally takes place in Las Vegas.

What is the novelty?

A new technology, namely PowerRay, was created in order to revolutionize the field of recreational, extreme and professional fishing. It also allows you to significantly increase the efficiency of fishing. All this became possible due to the fact that the drone combined several useful fishing (and not only) devices at once and made it possible to use a number of modern technologies when fishing, including for purely recreational purposes.

So, in an underwater drone there is a sonar that is used to search for a catch. Its range is 131 feet and its scanning accuracy is 4 inches. Max Depth sonar dives - 98 feet. It is important to note that the sonar itself can be removed from the drone and used separately. Scan results are transmitted to the fisherman in real time.

A logical question would be, the question of what does PowerRay work with? With the drone, you can synchronize any mobile device. You can also connect virtual reality glasses to it, as a result of which it will be possible to contemplate what exactly is happening under water. Of course, you can do this with a 4K UHD camera with a 100-degree wide-angle lens.

In continuation of the topic, if you do not see them with your own eyes.