We've covered all sorts of amazing drones here at Tom's Hardware — most of them custom-designed with amazing finesse. Today is the first time we've ever covered a drone quite like this. Students Andrei Copaci, Pawel Kowalczyk, Krzysztof Sierocki, and Mikolaj Dzwigalo from Denmark's Aalborg University have 3D printed a custom drone that is not only capable of flight but can also be piloted underwater.
These features aren't independent options. Rather, the drone seamlessly jumps between flight and aquatic mode as needed. The duo released a video showing off what it's capable of, and in it, we see the drone flying above a pool before crashing into the water's surface. It then moves about the pool before reemerging to fly in the air again.
This project, while demonstrating incredible capabilities, is still in early concept stages. This project is a one-off, so don't expect to buy one of these anytime soon. However, this is an amazing proof-of-concept that shows how easy it is for makers to create something so innovative with readily available tools and hardware.
The drone is able to pull off the incredible transition using what the team calls a "variable-pitch propeller system". In short, this means that the propeller blades automatically adjust to optimize for whatever environment they're operating in—water vs air. When flying through the air, the propeller blades are angled with a higher pitch.
When the drone is submerged, the blades' pitch is lowered to help improve efficiency while piloting underwater. This is accomplished by reducing the amount of drag caused by the propeller blade angles. The students also utilize reverse thrust to improve mobility when moving through tight spaces underwater.
If you want to 3D print your own drone, there are tons of options out there to follow along with at home. However, you won't get very far without at least a 3D printer. If you're new to the hobby and want to get started, check out our list of best 3D printers to see what we recommend and what specs to look for when shopping.
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