A planing boat including: a hull having a boarding area; a screw unit having a screw, and configured to be rotatable with respect to the hull so that the expulsion direction of a water current by the screw can vary by 360 degrees; and a direction change mechanism having a turning drive force source, and configured to change the expulsion direction by rotating the screw unit with respect to the hull with a drive force of the turning drive force source.

A planing boat including: a hull having a boarding area; a screw unit having a screw, and configured to be rotatable with respect to the hull so that the expulsion direction of a water current by the screw can vary by 360 degrees; and a direction change mechanism having a turning drive force source, and configured to change the expulsion direction by rotating the screw unit with respect to the hull with a drive force of the turning drive force source.

A propulsor is described in which rotation of the frustum of a right circular cylinder generates thrust. Variants of this basic geometrical shape are also described that enable multiple means for propelling fluid past the propulsor.

A handheld underwater aircraft includes a battery compartment (12) and propellers. There are at least two propellers, which are symmetrically distributed on both sides of the battery compartment (12), and are connected to the battery compartment (12). A special design with axes of the propellers being unparallel with an axis of the battery compartment (12) is adopted, and unparallel included angles make component forces generated by the various propellers in a direction of motion of a non-underwater aircraft offset each other, and enable the underwater aircraft to maintain balanced and forward-forward motion. The design with the axes of the propellers being unparallel with the axis of the battery compartment (12) leads to a little power loss, but avoids a larger power loss caused by the impact of water on the human body, thereby comprehensively improving the thrust of the underwater aircraft in use.

A handheld underwater aircraft includes a battery compartment (12) and propellers. There are at least two propellers, which are symmetrically distributed on both sides of the battery compartment (12), and are connected to the battery compartment (12). A special design with axes of the propellers being unparallel with an axis of the battery compartment (12) is adopted, and unparallel included angles make component forces generated by the various propellers in a direction of motion of a non-underwater aircraft offset each other, and enable the underwater aircraft to maintain balanced and forward-forward motion. The design with the axes of the propellers being unparallel with the axis of the battery compartment (12) leads to a little power loss, but avoids a larger power loss caused by the impact of water on the human body, thereby comprehensively improving the thrust of the underwater aircraft in use.

An unmanned vehicle capable of tunneling into soft materials, such as sand, comprises a hollow, bullet-shaped forward outer body with a first drive screw thread integrated into its exterior, a hollow cylindrical rear outer body with a second drive screw thread integrated into its exterior but threaded in the opposed direction of the first drive screw thread, and an inner body that is rotatably coupled to the inside of the forward and rear outer bodies via mechanical gears, and including directional control fins mounted on a housing at the rear end of the inner body.

An apparatus for collecting floating marine debris comprises a frame, a debris collection container in communication with a rear opening of the frame, a pair of helicoidal screws mounted to the frame in a symmetrical V-arrangement that tapers inwardly from a front opening of the frame to the rear opening, and at least one prime mover rotationally coupled to the pair of helicoidal screws. The prime mover is operable to rotate the helicoidal screws in opposite directions at the same angular velocity in water to move the apparatus forward through the water, such that floating marine debris enters the apparatus through the front opening, passes through the rear opening and is collected in the debris collection container.

An apparatus for collecting floating marine debris comprises a frame, a debris collection container in communication with a rear opening of the frame, a pair of helicoidal screws mounted to the frame in a symmetrical V-arrangement that tapers inwardly from a front opening of the frame to the rear opening, and at least one prime mover rotationally coupled to the pair of helicoidal screws. The prime mover is operable to rotate the helicoidal screws in opposite directions at the same angular velocity in water to move the apparatus forward through the water, such that floating marine debris enters the apparatus through the front opening, passes through the rear opening and is collected in the debris collection container.

The present invention provides a hetero-stiffness robotic device with a central body portion having a head end and a tail end. A rigid rotatable head propeller extends from the head end while a flexible rotatable tail propeller extends from the tail end. A head motor positioned in the central body portion rotates the rigid rotatable head propeller and a tail motor positioned in the central body portion rotates the flexible rotatable tail propeller. A controller independently controls a rotational speed of the head motor and the tail motor. The head and tail propellers may have helical shapes. The hetero-stiffness propulsion gives the robotic device a high level of environmental adaptivity over a wide range of viscosities. The device demonstrates advantages in linearity, straightness, bi-directional locomotion ability, and efficiency, which provides a critical competence for moving in low Reynolds number environments.

Various aspects include a robot including a chassis, a rear section, and a forward propulsion auger. The chassis may include a forward section; a first drive motor positioned within the forward section; a rear section; and a maneuvering gimbal. The forward propulsion auger may be positioned on a leading end of the forward section and coupled to the first drive motor. The forward propulsion auger may include at least one fluid nozzle configured to eject a fluid therefrom for fluidizing at least a portion of a viscous mixture. The forward section and the rear section may be configured to be selectively pivoted relative to one another about the pivot axis of the maneuvering gimbal. Also, the forward propulsion auger may be configured to be rotated by the first drive motor relative to the forward section about a rotational axis normal to the pivot axis of the maneuvering gimbal.