A Chinese team sets a Guinness World Record for the most autonomous underwater vehicles operating simultaneously, using a swarm of 116 underwater drones in a controlled test. The record is for “most autonomous underwater vehicles operating simultaneously,” achieved by deploying the vehicles together to demonstrate coordinated operation.
The university team behind the effort is from Northwestern Polytechnical University, working with Xian Tianhe Maritime Technologies. In reporting, the trial involves autonomous formation navigation without human intervention, with the drones operating for about 34 minutes and covering a distance of roughly 500 meters. A separate outlet also describes the event as a demonstration involving a large number of small robots tested in a swimming-pool setting.
Across outlets, the key common elements are the same: a swarm of 116 autonomous underwater vehicles, the Guinness World Record claim, and autonomous operation demonstrated through formation navigation over a measured route. Differences are mainly in the emphasis and level of detail, with some accounts focusing more on the record-setting claim and others on the specific performance metrics of time and distance.
