Hydrus
The Drone Revolution, Underwater.
Hydrus is a micro hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) that makes underwater surveying easy and affordable. Designed for anyone who needs underwater data — not just specialists — Hydrus brings the drone revolution beneath the surface.
Truly Autonomous
Hydrus brings the most advanced navigation and communication systems of any subsea vehicle underwater. It integrates a DVL, USBL, INS, and both acoustic and optical modems into one tightly coupled system, enabling highly reliable, fully autonomous underwater missions — complete with obstacle detection and collision avoidance.
Stunning Imagery
Hydrus produces high-quality imagery even in low light and turbid conditions, combining a 4K camera, dynamic lighting, and AI image processing to deliver georeferenced footage. Recording at 60 frames per second captures fast movement and strengthens onboard machine vision, enabling AI classification and analysis directly on the vehicle. Hydrus can also generate 3D RGB point clouds by fusing camera imagery with sonar and navigation data.
Small and Affordable
Hydrus packs advanced capability into one of the smallest and most affordable AUVs on the market. Its fully encapsulated polymer construction delivers best-in-class reliability with minimal maintenance.
Intuitive Mission Control
Mission planning is handled through an intuitive point-and-click 3D map interface, removing complex mission design from the realm of trained specialists. Even untrained operators can deploy Hydrus straight out of the box, with AI handling navigation reliability and image quality control during the mission.
Key Capabilities
AI-Enhanced INS
Fuses all navigation and positioning data using Advanced Navigation's proprietary INS algorithm.
USBL Positioning
Delivers absolute positioning and time synchronization when paired with a Subsonus USBL unit.
DVL Transducers
High-frequency acoustics for obstacle avoidance, camera focal length control, and precise velocity measurement.
High Speed Communication
Wi-Fi data transfer above water; optical modem communication underwater.
4K 60FPS Camera
Cinema-grade simultaneous video and stills, optimised for low light and computer vision.
Hubless Thrusters
Fine control authority with reduced entanglement risk; swappable impellers for easy maintenance.
Connectorless Design
Fully sealed body design reduces maintenance and eliminates water ingress risk.
Wireless Charging
Safe, fast Qi-standard charging, even underwater.
E-ink Screen
Pressure-tolerant, ultra-low-power display for a clear on-device interface.
Applications
Reef & Habitat Monitoring
With 6 degrees of freedom, obstacle detection, and collision avoidance, Hydrus navigates confidently around reefs and tight spaces. Its 4K camera captures millimetre-precision imagery for 3D photogrammetry modelling, and its single-user hand deployment removes the need for specialist dive crews.
Seabed Verification & Mapping
Tight integration between Hydrus's imaging and navigation systems produces natively georeferenced, high-resolution seabed imagery, compatible with industry-standard GIS, mosaicing, and photogrammetry software. Missions can be saved and repeated on schedule for consistent data collection.
Underwater Asset Inspection
Hydrus operates untethered and autonomously, without the need for large support vessels or expert crews — reducing operational costs by up to 75% compared with traditional diver or ROV inspections.
Object Localisation & Classification
Hydrus's open platform allows users to run custom machine vision software directly onboard with full access to imaging and sensor data, enabling rapid object localisation and classification.
Specifications
Interested in Hydrus?
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