Crowd Funding for New Underwater Drone

Trident ROV underwater drone crowdfunding for a fully-assembled ROV

Aerial drones are great for providing a bird’s eye view of our world. That said, some people are more interested in seeing a fish’s eye view of their local seacoast or lake. Previously, such folks had to build their own underwater remote-operated vehicle (ROV). Three years ago, San Francisco startup OpenROV made things a little easier for them, by offering an ROV kit that users put together themselves. Now, the company is crowdfunding the fully-assembled Trident ROV, which can reportedly be "flown" through the water.

The hydrodynamic-bodied Trident has two rear thrusters that provide rapid horizontal propulsion, along with a third mid-mounted vertical thruster that moves the ROV vertically. It has a top speed of 2 meters (6.6 ft) per second, and can descend to a maximum depth of 100 meters (328 ft). That said, it can also hover on the spot, delicately panning and tilting to inspect targets via its front-mounted HD video camera and six LED spotlights.

Radio waves don’t travel well through water, however. That’s why the Trident sends real-time video and receives commands via a neutrally-buoyant cable that runs up to a Wi-Fi-equipped buoy, which is towed along above it at the surface. This means that although the ROV is tethered, it isn’t limited by a cable that runs all the way back to the operator. In fact, the cable that it comes with is 25 m (82 ft) long – buyers who want to take the Trident deeper can go with an optional longer cable.

Read More Related Content On This Topic - Click Here

Attached link

Taxonomy

• Technology
• Solutions