Underwater drones or ROVs (remotely operated underwater vehicles) allow you to descend into the mysterious depths of our planet’s great lakes, seas, and oceans. Most of such machines are either aimed at industry or used exclusively as research and development projects.
A Chinese startup Youcan Robot is making unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) for a regular working man or woman to explore or capture amazing underwater photos and videos like the professionals.
The company successfully crowdfunded its remote-control BW Space underwater drone last year that according to the company, is the first UUV kit with auto-piloting and auto-adjust lighting technologies. And it is now back with an upgraded BW Space Pro model with 4K zoom camera for better close-ups without disturbing marine life you are photographing.
Along with two horizontal thrusters in the rear like the original BW Space, the Pro model has two vertical thrusters in the front and back, allowing the machine to move vertically (up or down) at a speed of 1.5 m/s. Using these four bidirectional thrusters, the BW Space Pro can shot and travel with pitch angles of up to plus or minus 45 degrees that offer more flexibility to capture stunning videos and still images.
Its 4K/30fps stabilized camera now has a 6X optical zoom. Just like the previous model, BW-Space Pro is also capable of descending up to 330 feet (100 meters) below the waves, attached to dry land via a communications cable which reaches up to a Wi-Fi module on the surface. The real-time image can show you the underwater world through a mobile phone or other devices.
So long as you’re within 500 m (1,640 ft) range of this module, you can control the drone using a dual-joystick LED-screen-equipped remote. Also, it offers to control BW Space pro using your trusty smartphone or tablet.
Besides, it can intelligently adjust the light according to the brightness of the external environment to achieve the optimal shooting effect. The Pro model features a 9600mAh high-density lithium battery, which is reportedly good for an average of four hours (3 hours shooting video or 5 hours shooting stills) of use once fully charged. This is about 45% longer than other products, according to the company.
Such machines can be helpful in underwater live-streaming, diving for entertainment, underwater archaeology and many more. Get more details on the company’s website.
The Zoom version of the BW Space Pro should ship on October 25th with the price tag of $1,999. It is now available now for pre-order, priced at US$1,699.
