The personal submersible

A couple of days ago I told you about the glass bottom boats. Now I’m going to present you the personal “underwater boat”.

This personal submersible is developed by U-Boat Worx and is based on a concept that combines the characteristics of a submersible -"the underwater part"- , with those of a normal boat -"the boat part". The main advantage of an Underwater Boat compared to the classic submersible is the ease with which they can be launched and operated in almost all waters, irrespective of the depth.

The personal submersible

Specs

General

Length: 109.44 in. (278 cm)
Beam: 72.44 in. (184 cm)
Height from keel: 74.80 in. (190 cm)
Weight in air: 2292.80 lbs (1040 kg)
Speed above water: 3 knots above water, 3 knots under water
Operational endurance: 2.5 hours
Capacity: 1 person
Environment: Dry 1-atmosphere
Maximum depth: 164 ft. (50 m)
Boat type: Double hull
Material: Composite

Propulsion

Engine type: Permanent magnet electric motors
Number of engines: 3
Battery type: Sealed lead acid
Number of batteries: 8

Life support/Air Conditioning

Oxygen addition system: Computer controlled solenoid
Oxygen addition capacity: 36 hours
Oxygen addition sensors: 4 sensors with automatic failover
CO2 filter system: Extend air solid pre-packages cartridges
CO2 filter capacity: 36 hours
Air-conditioning system: Climate controlled dual phase system

The personal submersible

Safety systems

Electrical system: Emergency batteries for vital systems
Oxygen addition: Manual override of solenoid
CO2 filter: Manual operation possible

Depth control

Redundancy: Air-to-ballast tank system has two solenoids and tubing circuits
Depth sensing: Analog and digital system to measure the current depth
Warning system: Visible and audible warning if maximum depth is exceeded
Automatic control: Onboard computer will automatically surface if necessary
Emergency system: Completely separate tank, non-electrical operation and tubing
Drop weight: 50 kilo jettison-able weight with non-electrical operation

Other systems

External lights: 2 x 50 Watt Halogen
Communication: Wireless ultrasonic, 32.768 kHz, 200m working range