Photos: Pedal-powered submarine launches off Canaries in race for marine conservation

Bicycle-fitted vessel is meant to operate without harming marine ecosystems

Last updated: October 05, 2023 | 09:00

Compiled by Nathaniel Lacsina, Senior Web Editor and with inputs from Reuters

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Bionic engineering student Joshua Biehn, 27, makes the final adjustments to the Chelonia submarine.

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Arinaga, Spain: German students tested their prototype of a pedal-powered submarine off Spain's Canary Islands before racing the craft internationally to raise conservation awareness.

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The sub, designed by soon-to-be engineers at the Rhine-Waal University, is fitted out with a sort of underwater bicycle piloted by a scuba diver and is meant to operate without harming marine ecosystems.

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Instead of razor-sharp propellers that could scythe through the seabed's vegetation as they spin, the machine boasts "fins" inspired by aquatic wildlife.

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The pupils' mentor, William Megill, said they would participate in their first SubRacing Series next year, with races held in key ocean conservation areas worldwide to foster scientific knowledge and curiosity.

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"We have some challenges around the Canaries, so that's why we started here," he told Reuters on Gran Canaria's windy Arinaga beach.

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Vessels competing in the SubRacing Series are crewed by a pilot and a navigator, who steer using both natural vision and augmented reality technology.

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Professor William Megill and student Eugenia Herrera, 23 years old, during the open sea tests of the Chelonia submarine.

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Bionic engineering student Joshua Biehn, 27, pilots the Chelonia submarine.

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Students from the German University Rhein-Waal carry out a test with the Chelonia submarine on Arinaga Beach, on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain.

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