Boat drones turn university project into one of China's most prized startups

Boat drones turn university project into one of China's most prized startups

A camouflaged boat drone at Oceanalpha's facility. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

In the vast, freezing Ross Sea, China’s “Snow Dragon” icebreaker needed to find a safe anchorage before it could begin its mission to set up China’s fifth Antarctic research station. The solution was to deploy one of Zhang Yunfei’s freezer-tested boat drones to map the ocean floor.

Bring stories like this into your inbox every day.

Sign up for our newsletter - The Daily Brief
Subscribe to Newsletter