2021-04-02 08:30:30 GMT2021-04-02 16:30:30(Beijing Time) Xinhua English HARBIN, April 2 (Xinhua) -- A full-ocean depth autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) developed by China's Harbin Engineering University (HEU) dived to a depth of 7,709 meters in a recent deep-sea trial, setting a new record for the country's autonomous submersibles, the Science and Technology Daily reported Friday. The AUV, named Wukong, had carried out the third phase deep-sea trial of the HEU Key Research Program on Full Ocean Depth AUV in February and March, and returned to Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province on Thursday. In its last dive on March 21, Wukong reached the designed depth above the seafloor and cruised for three hours and 15 minutes, taking 1,543 pictures and shooting 144 minutes of video footage. It reached the maximum depth of 7,709 meters, only second to the record set by Russian AUV Vityaz-D.