personal semi submarine: ego by raonhaje

‘ego’, a compact semi-submarine designed by raonhaje

billing itself as the world’s ‘first compact semi submarine’, the ‘ego’ craft by korean company raonhaje is built around a submergeable core, permitting the private enclosed underwater excursions of individuals, couples, and families.

with a maximum speed of five knots, the boat is motored through podded propulsion, powered by 8 12-volt marine batteries. in addition to being more ecologically sustainable, the electric design also permits the craft to bypass restrictions on entry into protected marine environments.

a single full battery charge is obtained in six to ten hours and provides a run time varying from about four hours at top speed to eight hours at consistent cruising speed.

view of the central hub, on land (left) and submerged (right)

because ‘ego’ is designed for personal use, its steering system is modeled after a car’s to increase the ease of operation, and is composed of an accelerator pedal instead of a throttle lever and an intuitive direction switch. no special license is required for the craft’s operation.

left: full view of the surface section of the craft right: detail on deck platform

prototypes of the model have already been produced and are available for test driving. the two-seat ‘ego’ is expected to be commerecially available in october 2011, with a 4-seat model still in development.

design diagrams for ‘ego’

video depiction of concept renders and prototype photographs

via gizmodo