116 Underwater Robots Set a New Guinness World Record Without Human Control

A team of Chinese researchers has set a new Guinness World Record after successfully operating 116 autonomous underwater vehicles at the same time without direct human control.

The record was achieved by Northwestern Polytechnical University in collaboration with Xian Tianhe Maritime Technologies. The vehicles, known as TH-618s, were tested in a 50-meter-long swimming pool on August 29. Guinness World Records officials supervised the attempt.

116 Robots Move Together Underwater

After being placed into the water, the 116 vehicles switched to autonomous navigation. They used real-time visual sensing to maintain formation and follow a preset route without people manually steering each individual machine.

The underwater robots continued their coordinated movement for 34 minutes and travelled more than 500 meters along the planned route. Guinness World Records later confirmed the achievement as a new record.

Why Underwater Navigation Is Difficult

Coordinating a large group of robots underwater is challenging because the machines cannot rely on ordinary satellite navigation while submerged. Wireless communication is also more difficult, while poor visibility and water movement can affect navigation.

The researchers designed the TH-618 vehicles to respond to changes in their surroundings and correct their movements when disturbances occur. The system can also recognize obstacles and adjust its route automatically.

Small Robots With Long Operating Times

Each TH-618 vehicle is about 61.5 centimeters long, 20 centimeters wide and 28 centimeters high. It weighs approximately 5.14 kilograms.

The university says each vehicle can travel up to 30 kilometers and operate for more than eight hours on a single charge. The machines use a camera-based navigation system and can perform movements including turning, hovering and maintaining a selected depth.

A Step Toward Larger Autonomous Systems

The researchers say the successful formation demonstrates that large numbers of underwater vehicles can work together autonomously for extended periods.

While the record was achieved in a controlled swimming pool rather than the open ocean, the experiment demonstrates a way of coordinating many small underwater machines as a single group.

The technology could provide researchers with new ways to develop autonomous underwater equipment for future exploration, monitoring and other underwater tasks.

Sources

• South China Morning Post — “Chinese team sets world record with swarm of 116 underwater drones” — September 29, 2026.
• China Education and Research Computer Network — “116 underwater autonomous vehicles achieve synchronized formation navigation and set Guinness World Record” — September 29, 2026.
• ScienceNet — “116 underwater autonomous vehicles create Guinness World Record” — September 27, 2026.