Sure, there are already drones out there that can take a bruising, but can they survive the brutally cold Arctic Ocean? Laval University's Argo drone can. The newly developed robotic submersible can reach depths of 6,560 feet as it collects data about organisms in bitterly cold waters, and its laser scanning system helps it avoid ice whenever it returns to the surface to transmit data. Not that Argo needs to poke its head above the water very often -- it can run for up to four years at a time. The machine is still in testing at the moment. If everything goes well, however, the drone will be tracking the biological effects of climate change within a matter of months.

[Image credits: AP Photo/John McConnico (top), Claudie Marec/Laval University (bottom)]