A new Chinese drone is gaining attention as it looks like something straight from a Hollywood action movie. Although its capabilities look pretty cool, in the wrong hands, this device could be dispatched on some dastardly missions.
What does the drone do?
The drone, known as the TJ-FlyingFish, was developed by a team of scientists from China’s Shanghai Research Institute for Intelligent Autonomous Systems, Tongji University, and the Unmanned Systems Research Group at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Aquatic flying drone stats
It is an amphibious drone that can both swim underwater and shoot into the sky and act as a quadcopter.
- 3.6 pounds weight
- 6 minutes hovering time
- 6.5 feet per second underwater swimming speed
- runs without human intervention on artificial intelligence only
- developed by Chinese
The drone weighs just 3.6 pounds and can hover in mid-air for 6 minutes. When it’s underwater, it can swim at speeds of 6.5 feet per second. Plus, the dual air and underwater drone does not need a human to operate it.
Its operating system is run completely by artificial intelligence. Those in control of the AI system can give the drone a mission and it will accomplish it autonomously without the need for human intervention.
What good can come from an amphibious flying drone?
Drones can be helpful for all kinds of reasons, and as this one can both fly and swim underwater, it’s safe to assume that it can be used for some great missions.
Some missions for the technology could include taking aerial and aquatic surveys, remote sensing, and search-and-rescue operations.
Professor Ben Chen from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and his colleagues will be presenting a paper on their research on the drone at the 2023 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in London this May.
So until that happens, we’ll be watching to see what kind of other work the TJ-FlyingFish may be used for.
Credit: Ben Chen
What do you think about this drone being developed in China? We want to hear your thoughts.
Related:
- “Virtual Employees” on the rise in China, should you be worried?
- Ask Kurt: are TikTok videos safe to view outside of the app?