The first and only waterproof sports drone, complete with a 4K camera and waterproof remote control, has launched after acquiring double its financial requirement on Kickstarter. As well as flying, it can submerge itself into water.
By now, drones are revolutionizing how we shoot. Among their main hindrances, however, were the dangers of getting one wet and the lack of being able to shoot underwater. Today, SwellProUSA are introducing the first ever drone, titled the Spry, that on top of the usual flying capabilities, can both float in water and also submerge into it. Its 4K camera shoots at 30 frames per second, with its pictures 12 megapixels in resolution.
Equally, the remote control that accompanies the Spry is waterproof, something that’s also previously not been possible. The "Return To Pilot Position" mode impressively returns the Spry to its operator even if he or she is on a moving boat.
It can fly for 17 minutes at a time, hitting speeds of 70 kilometers/43 miles per hour.
Comparing it to science fiction movies, Alex Rodriguez, CEO of Urban Drones who are a partner in the project, commented: "The Spry’s ability to submerge under water and fly in the air makes it the most versatile drone ever created."
The Spry currently stands at around £42,000 ($54,000) of its £21,000 ($27,000) target. Check out the video below to see the Spry in action amidst a large volume of water.
Pre-orders via Kickstarter see the unit selling for $749, which the kit’s press release reveals is 25% cheaper than its expected retail price. Units will start delivering in late November 2018.
I'd back it up, but I've seen all the alternative drones with tilting horizon problems ( most not fixable hardware-wise, just possible to "rescue" the material via rotating in post-processing, but scaling the image, thus sacrificing field of view and image quality or framing ) and also the issues the current top drones from DJI have.
Like we Greeks say, ahead of us a cliff, behind us a stream...
Hi Bil - I'm one of the creators. I will be uploading footage from our latest prototype in the next few days. Check the footage and let me know what you think. If you're not satisfied, I would completely understand. Not hard feelings here, just trying to address your comment.
I'd love to see you succeed! Really! Honestly, I really do. Hope you get to mass production and even get to work with distributors and local dealers. I'd also love to *play* with it to review it for the sites I work for too.
Thanks Bill. We're actually doing great right now. Not sure if you've seen the videos I put out documenting some of the process, but you can search Flyers District (youtube) and check out how drone batteries and other drone components are made.
I'll dig it up in a few minutes :)
Truly hope you succeed and come out with a fantastic product.
I'm a brand neutral person, never been a fanboy, never thought of "brand loyalty" just give us your best and you'll have our cash and support :)
I'll believe it when I'm holding it in my hand. I've been burned too many times by these vaporware waterproof drones.
It's wise but unlike many drone projects on kickstarter the company behind this campaign is not new and they already delivered a crowdfunded drone (splash drone) in the past:
https://www.urbandrones.com/collections/splash-drone-1
I know the CEO of the company and he is a serious guy. That being said, November 2018 is coming soon and it's always safe to wait and see until they deliver the product.
Thanks man. Let's fly soon.
@lee morris - I can understand your concern, but we have been working on this for two years now. We decided to put it on Kickstarter on we were 100% sure that we could deliver on our promise. We wanted to make sure we didn't become one of those. But again, I do understand your concern, but trust me, we will deliver. We've delivered in the past.
Hi Alexander. When we say submerge, we mean it goes under water. It also floats and navigates like a boat. If you happen to land upside down on the water, you can activate the motors to flip it right side up and take off again. I would never advertise something that we cannot deliver.
12 inches, then floats back
Just another Kickstarter=Kickscamer! It takes a billion dollar company (DJI) to make high tech and reliable drones. One needs to be on drugs to believe that a no name company with a couple of box and a fancy teaser video will deliver this fancy project...
Hi Lou - I completely understand your concern since there have been several drone Kickstarters that have failed to deliver, however, we have experience building waterproof drone and delivering two previous Kickstarters. I can assure you that we will deliver again. In fact, we waited till we were sure, before we put it on Kickstarter. My name is Alexedit, you can look me up on youtube. If I wasn't sure that we could deliver this, I would not put it out there. :)
Hi Alex, one of your drones: Splash Drone 3 has a dismal 2 stars rate on Amazon. Need I say more?
Hi Lou - Just saw this reply from you since I didn't visit this page again until now. That Amazon rating is based on the Splash Drone 1 and 2. We had a couple of issues with those versions. All those issues have now been resolved on the release of version. We took care of all our customers. We're very transparent of our process and where we are. You can check my youtube videos documenting how the whole process works. No other drone company that I know is this transparent. I don't want to share the youtube links here because I don't want people to think I'm spamming, but you can just do a search on Flyers District. I'm here to answer questions guys. I appreciate the interaction.