# Autonomous submarines and submersibles **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 8, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autonomous-submarines-and-submersibles/801051 "2017-11-08T14:57:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autonomous-submarines-and-submersibles/801051/1 "2017-11-08T14:57:54Z")
Anybody have any experience with these, either small recreational models/toys, scientific research vehicles, or military drones? How deep can they dive? Top speed? Range? What means are used for navigation? Are real-time communications and remote control possible? What did you accomplish with them? Just curious about an alternative to the more typical R/C aeroplanes, helicopters, cars, and boats. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2017, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autonomous-submarines-and-submersibles/801051/2 "2017-11-08T21:38:42Z")
[Ask the Colombians.](https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/xyyme4/drugsub) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autonomous-submarines-and-submersibles/801051/3 "2017-11-09T00:11:46Z")
Aren’t those just normal submarines? If drug cartels are constructing homemade uncrewed narco-subs that would be an impressive example of what I had in mind, but the article mentions no such thing. I expected there would be some scientific or military use of untethered ROVs, but perhaps there is some reason why they are not practical? ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autonomous-submarines-and-submersibles/801051/4 "2017-11-09T04:05:37Z")
Interesting subject. Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) have many uses and have been around a long time but they have serious limitations. > **[Autonomous underwater vehicle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_underwater_vehicle)** > > An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is a robot that travels underwater without requiring continuous input from an operator. AUVs constitute part of a larger group of undersea systems known as unmanned underwater vehicles, a classification that includes non-autonomous remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) – controlled and powered from the surface by an operator/pilot via an umbilical or using remote control. In military applications an AUV is more often referred to as an unmanned underse... Amateurs do get involved, but it looks like the kind of hobby that could become quite expensive. [https://store.openrov.com/collections/openrov](https://store.openrov.com/collections/openrov) Unless there is a cable, communication will be difficult. There are such things as underwater modems, that can send data by encoding it into acoustic signals, but the data rates are very low indeed and the range is quite limited and there is a danger it might deafen the wild life. They are also big and expensive. Tracking is also a problem, it can be done over a short range, using the same acoustic modem from the surface, but there is no equivalent of GPS that works underwater. > **[Finally, the Underwater Wireless Modem We've All Been Waiting For](https://www.wired.com/2013/10/undersea/)** > > Researchers at the University at Buffalo have floated their first wireless internet modems, designed for underwater use. They're gigantic, slow, and noisy, but they could be a step toward making undersea sensors cheaper and easier to hook up to the... A data cable is the only way to get realtime video so you can drive the thing, and to be useful the water has to be clear and, of course the range is limited by the length and weight of the tether. AUVs can, however, float about logging data for long periods of time, periodically surfacing and sending data by satellite modem. There are plenty of those floating around the oceans collecting data for scientific projects. They can move around slowly by altering their bouyancy and ‘gliding’ forewards. You can see why the undersea world is still largely unexplored. It is much easier to communicate with a probe in outer space than underwater.☹ ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2017, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/autonomous-submarines-and-submersibles/801051/5 "2017-11-09T13:42:32Z")
Autonomous submarines have been around a long time. They’ve mostly been designed for a relatively short operation time before they blow up. They were originally designed to travel in a straight line maintaining a steady depth just below the surface but modern versions have much more capability to track and follow another watercraft trying to elude them. Mostly they are carried on other non-autonomous submarines but also have been launched by plane and conventional boats.