China sets world record with 116 underwater drones navigating with zero human input

China has set a new world record for simultaneous autonomous underwater vehicles after 116 small drones navigated a swimming pool without human control.

The trial brought together autonomous underwater vehicles from Northwestern Polytechnical University and Xian Tianhe Maritime Technologies. Guinness World Records certified the feat after officials monitored the August 29 demonstration.

The drones spent 34 minutes navigating a preset route across 1,640 feet of water. They covered roughly 1,640 feet while maintaining coordinated movement through the pool.

116 drones navigate together

The vehicles, known as TH-618s, operated as a coordinated swarm during the test. Operators deployed them in sequence before handing control to their onboard autonomous systems.

Each drone used real-time data to stay on its assigned route. The system also allowed the vehicles to correct their paths when disturbances pushed them away from the planned course.

Keeping dozens of underwater vehicles coordinated presents a tougher problem than simply programming each drone to follow a route. Radio signals also behave differently underwater, making reliable communication a persistent engineering challenge.

Northwestern Polytechnical University said the swarm demonstrates progress toward larger autonomous underwater systems. The university has spent more than two decades developing technologies for underwater sensing, acoustic communication and visual perception. Scaling the system further would require each vehicle to maintain formation awareness despite limited underwater bandwidth and visibility.

Compact drones pack endurance

The TH-618 measures about 24 inches long and 7.8 inches wide. Each vehicle weighs roughly 11.3 pounds, making the individual drones small enough for swarm operations.

The vehicles can travel up to 18.6 miles and remain operational for more than eight hours. A camera-based navigation system helps them interpret their surroundings and adjust their movement.

The drones can also respond when conditions disrupt their planned path. That capability matters underwater, where currents and other disturbances can gradually push vehicles away from their intended course.

Xian Tianhe Maritime Technologies says autonomous underwater vehicles can support civilian and industrial work. Potential applications include detailed seabed surveys and inspections of oil and gas pipelines.

Underwater swarms gain ground

The record arrives as militaries increasingly explore uncrewed systems for operations across air, land and water. An underwater drone strike on a submarine at a Black Sea port in December highlighted the growing use of these systems in maritime operations.

Chinese researchers have also examined military applications for coordinated underwater systems. A July paper proposed using machine swarms around contested islands in the South China Sea.

The study appeared in Command Control & Simulation, a Chinese-language journal. It discussed underwater drones as tools for covering detection gaps.

Other countries have tested coordinated underwater robots as well. A European Union-funded project previously demonstrated a swarm containing 41 autonomous robots.

China’s new record more than doubles that figure. The larger formation demonstrates the challenge of scaling autonomous underwater navigation beyond small groups.

The pool test also offered a controlled environment for validating the swarm’s navigation system. Larger deployments would introduce greater distances, stronger environmental disturbances, and more difficult communication conditions.