# University development of autonomous underwater vehicles > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/university-development-of-autonomous-underwater-vehicles > Updated: 2026-08-14T18:08:28.000Z. Sources: 2. Developments: 2. University students in Poland and Switzerland are developing autonomous underwater vehicles for specialized aquatic tasks. In Poland, students from Gdańsk University of Technology successfully conducted the first open-water trial of the URWIS rescue drone at Lake Kałębie. The test evaluated the drone’s hull tightness, propulsion, and remote-control systems. Project lead Maksym Domkowski stated, “First tests can be considered a success,” noting that future developments will include more powerful engines, cameras, thermal sensors, and the ability to tow rescue rafts. In Switzerland, ETH Zurich students developed Polaris, a 30-kilogram autonomous underwater vehicle designed to survey ice thickness in alpine lakes. Using sonar technology and an NVIDIA Jetson processor, the drone aims to improve safety for winter activities and provide data to assist climate models in forecasting ice reactions to warming temperatures. ## Timeline ### 2026-08-14: ETH Zurich students develop autonomous drone to survey alpine ice ETH Zurich students developed Polaris, an autonomous underwater drone designed to safely map ice thickness in alpine lakes using sonar to improve winter recreation safety and climate data collection. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/eth-zurich-students-develop-autonomous-drone-to-survey-alpine-ice ### 2026-07-19: Polish university rescue drone URWIS completes first open‑water test Polish engineering students successfully tested the URWIS rescue drone on Lake Kałębie, confirming its seaworthiness and outlining plans for stronger propulsion, cameras and full autonomy. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/polish-university-rescue-drone-urwis-completes-first-openwater-test --- Cite as: University development of autonomous underwater vehicles. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/university-development-of-autonomous-underwater-vehicles