DIY 'wrist rockets' allow inventor to cruise underwater like a human submarine

Sure, Aquaman has never been the world’s coolest comic book character, but there’s something undeniably cool about the notion of speeding effortlessly through the water like a superhero.

That’s a dream that YouTuber “PeterSripol” has tried to make a reality, and a new video showcases his homemade hack involving two T100 thrusters, a pair of wrist straps, and an Arduino-powered, belt-mounted unit. Sripol — who has previously built a number of cool engineering projects, including an RC Lego airplane, DIY javelin missile (!) and giant Zippo flamethrower — describes the finished product as “wrist rockets.” And when you see him test out the miniature propellers at a beach in Hawaii, it’s pretty darn hard to disagree. The video’s not just Sripol showing off, though. It also gives you a sneak peak at the construction process, which is a lot more complex than you might think — with one of the most important parts being the waterproofing of the whole contraption. (With good reason, too: electronics and water aren’t exactly the world’s greatest tag team.) The design Spripol comes up with offers a few neat touches, including a triple-level throttle system that users can switch between by clicking the controller. Clicking once provides a low power thrust, twice provides midlevel propulsion, and three times gives the full supercharged wrist rocket experience. Read more