The jetpack consists of 45 3D-printed parts that can be assembled in 10 minutes. Source: Loughborough University
What if you could glide underwater at a speed that allowed you to keep up with fish, but the device didn’t weigh you down or cost an arm and leg?
That’s what a student at Loughborough University in the U.K. is working on with, an underwater jetpack that allows swimmers and divers the ability to move rapidly through pools, lakes or the ocean.
Named Cuda, the jetpack is portable and powered by rechargeable batteries to coexist with nature without damaging marine life.
The student, Archie O’Brien, developed the idea after discovering current offerings on the market were either too slow, too expensive or weighed way too much, making them cumbersome for travel. Cuda is fast while being inexpensive enough to be rented out by a water sports shop or used by a professional film crew, O’Brien said.
The underwater jetpack consists of 45 3D-printed parts and can be assembled in 10 minutes underwater. The device operates like a jet ski and can be controlled by a handheld trigger system.
O’Brien plans on developing Cuda further before building a brand with the goal to roll out a device that can be used in recreational, propulsion water sports worldwide. The aim is to bring the underwater jetpack to production in the second quarter of next year.
