COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – University of Idaho researchers are developing an underwater drone called “The Catfish” that will one day be able to cruise along the bottom of Lake Coeur d’Alene.
Different disciplines within UI are all working on the underwater drone. It is built from scratch and can go deeper underwater than some other drones. It is small and is equipped with computers and a camera.
Adrian Beehner is a U of I grad student that is part of the brains behind the Catfish. This week marked its first time out this far in Lake Coeur d'Alene.
"Being able to go out on a boat and see this thing I've been working on, and see it go in the water. I think it's really cool," Beehner said.
The Catfish is a research device. The UI team's hope is to use the drone to gather water samples from deep down and map the lake bed. Local inventors built the Catfish and the UI team came up with the software inside. The plan is to have the Catfish become autonomous, meaning it will do its thing without someone manning the controls.
"It's a great multi-disciplinary study. We have engineers and scientists working together," said Dr. John Shovic, with the Computer Science Department.
The Catfish was built on a tight budget and can dive deeper than other commercial underwater drones.
The Catfish is still a ways out from being an independent drone. The team hopes it will change the way we study the precious lakes of Idaho.