Boeing invents aerial drone that can transform into a submarine

[HEXUS]

When it hits the water the wings detach and a buoyancy tank controls its depth.

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[Corky34]

Seems like a fun thing to do, although I would question how much of a need there is for such a thing, seems like a solution looking for a problem.

[Saracen]

Seems like a fun thing to do, although I would question how much of a need there is for such a thing, seems like a solution looking for a problem.

I would have thought some obvious military uses for this, and probably a few civilian ones in 'hazardous' environments, too. For example, when you need to survey something but submarine approach takes too long, and manned aerial approach is too risky.

It's definitely niche, though. I don't see me adding one to my drone collection any time soon.

[Kepe]

Looks like something a 10-year-old would draw. I had no idea these kind of abstract ideas could be patented.

[aidanjt]

It looks more like a design sketch for Kerbal Space Program lol.

[outwar6010]

Looks like something a 10-year-old would draw. I had no idea these kind of abstract ideas could be patented.

I guess its time to patent all my doodles lol

[Jace007]

Bah I'm sure James bond & HMG already hold this patent ?

[Tpyo]

So if they don't actually have to include technical details for the patent, how low is the bar for prior art? I'm pretty sure I have details of an 'aerosub' from a sci/tech magazine from the late 80s/early 90s in their 'tech of the future' section. Can all these ideas be patented without actually describing a way of overcoming the issues that they face to be made practical?

[mikerr]

So it can't take off again from under water ?

Fail.

[edzieba]

So it's a ASROC with a camera in place of a warhead.

[Lucio]

Thought this would be useful as a search vehicle for example if a plane goes down in the middle of the ocean it could be deployed to the target site far faster than a conventional craft could.

[Brian224]

Handy way for warships to deploy sonar buoys ahead of their course. Probably faster than a helicopter and no need to worry about the crew's safety.

[Kumagawa]

So how is this 'invented'? it's just a doodle.

Build a working one and then it's invented.

[stephen0205]

thats not really invented tho is it

[Tpyo]

Also - do patents like this where the tech is not yet available have any practical use as defensive patents? To clarify - if I were to patent something that is unlikely to be built in the next 20 years. When someone finally works out the science/technical details of how to do it, are they then unable to patent it themselves because my (by then expired) patent would be prior art?

[JGJones]

Hell I even remember clearly reading about a plane that could dive underwater and then take off again from water in my school library and that was in the early 1990's but the book I was reading wasn't a new one, it was a few years old then. The book was about possibilities of future technology so the idea of a plane flying and then diving into the sea to go underwater and then taking off and came complete with futuristic drawings of it in action etc (it was yellow, with a smiling blonde chap sitting at the controls, and a blonde beside him)