Hydrus, an underwater drone from Advanced Navigation, has been sent to the depths of the Rottnest ship graveyard just off the coast of Western Australia in the Indian Ocean.
Upon viewing the data, the team was overjoyed to discover the Hydrus had captured footage of a 210-foot (64-meter) shipwreck spread across the seafloor.
Compact enough to be deployed by only one person, Hydrus utilized its communication and advanced navigation sensors to collect 4K video and imagery at the same time. This video highlights the footage gathered by the Hydrus drone.
After returning to the surface, the team discerned the exact coordinates of the ship and deployed two Hydrus units to perform three missions, completing the full survey in just under five hours. This level of efficiency is vital to underwater exploration as costs can rise rapidly.
The resulting imagery and video footage were shared with Curtin University HIVE and the Western Australian Museum for further historical analysis and processing.
