Engineering company Fourstroke Engine Company has hired two people to help build a small 4 stroke underwater engine to power underwater vehicles.
Fourstrokes engineer Adam Ziegler and two engineers have been assigned to the project.
The company is also working on developing a system to use the power of the engine to steer a boat.
“We have two engineers working on the project with the intention of building an underwater powered engine and are hoping to have a prototype ready by the end of the year,” Fourstrokes president and CEO Jim Hoehn said in a statement.
Fourstroke plans to develop the technology in partnership with NASA, which is developing the technology to power a spacecraft.
Fourstroke Engine’s engineers were originally hired to design a new 4 stroke powertrain for the Navy’s Aquila aircraft, which uses a modified 4-stroke engine.
The aircraft can dive for about 25 meters, while the new 4-strokes powertrain can reach depths of more than 1,000 meters.
Fourstroke’s previous effort to build a 4 stroke powered submarine was shelved because of technical issues with the engine.