Northrop Grumman has created a next-generation Manta Ray drone that can recharge itself in the ocean without human assistance.
A new underwater drone could let long-range military missions hide in plain sight. Northrop Grumman built the craft for the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency , and it will be capable of harvesting energy from the seas. The Manta Ray, as the craft is known, has been in the making for four years. What makes the craft so exceptional is the fact that it is designed to address biofouling and the corrosion of sea life.
Because it can generate its own energy from the ocean around it, and it is made to mimic the design of a real-life creature, the Manta Ray could theoretically go under and not come up for months at a time. It must also use minimal amounts of energy to make it more efficient at what it is doing. Based on images shared by DARPA, as well as a video, the drone seems to gather energy from nearby waves, which it then feeds into its batteries, allowing it to work without human intervention.
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