The University of Sherbrooke, which is located in Quebec, Canada, has developed the concept of a waterproof drone that would use bodies of water, such as lakes, as places to recharge.

In theory, a UAS that could recharge in water could have a significantly extended flight time, with the potential to possibly fly for months at a time.

Named the Sherbrooke University Water-Air Vehicle (SUWAVE), the UAS is designed to fly short distances, crash down into a body of water, and then recharge using solar panels that are built into its fixed wings.

Once recharged, the UAS would take off again.

“A drone that could take advantage of lakes as a standby and recharge station could travel long distances or monitor a site of interest for an extended period of time,” says Professor Alexis Desbiens, via an article from Digital Trends.

Being that the UAS would “crash” into a body of water, it could be assumed that the unmanned system would be damaged by impact and have a short life span.

But according to the developers of the SUWAVE, thanks to its clever design, the UAS would only ever be subjected to around “15 Gs of deceleration,” which it is capable of handling.

A UAS with the capability of recharging in the water to extend its flight time could have a variety of uses. A swarm of SUWAVE UAS “could relay each other to continuously monitor a forest fire,” according to Desbiens. 

Desbiens also says that the UAS could be used to fetch water samples from lakes that are far away, to help with environmental research.