Chinese team sets world record with swarm of 116 underwater drones

A Chinese team has set a world record for the most autonomous underwater drones operating at the same time, deploying more than a hundred of the small robots in a swimming pool test.The Guinness World Record for “most autonomous underwater vehicles operating simultaneously” was set by a team from Northwestern Polytechnical University in collaboration with Xian Tianhe Maritime Technologies.The trial involved a swarm of 116 autonomous underwater vehicles – called TH-618s, the university said in a statement on September 24.The autonomous underwater vehicles were deployed in sequence. Photo: Northwestern Polytechnical UniversityIt took place on August 29 in a pool measuring 50 metres (164 feet) long and 20 metres (65 feet) wide under the supervision of Guinness World Records officials, who have since certified and posted the record on their website.The vehicles were deployed in sequence and executed autonomous underwater formation navigation with no human intervention for 34 minutes over 500 metres, relying on real-time data to follow their preset route.