Boat International US Edition – May 2019

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PHOTOGRAPHY: ADOBE STOCK

WORDS Sam Fortescue

UNDERWATER DRONES

POWERRAY WIZARD

This ray-shaped box of tricks is capable of

descending to 100ft on a 230ft cord. The

Wizard can stream HD video to your smart

device and shoot 4K video at 30fps as

well as hi-res stills – all lit with its built-in

LED spots. The package comes with sonar

fish-finder, bait delivery unit and VR

headset. $1,399, powervision.me

GLADIUS MINI
This second-generation drone has five drives
for more maneuverability and a two-hour
battery life. It’s controlled wirelessly from up
to 320ft via a buoy tethered by a cord. Set a
tilt lock for 4K camera and 12mp images down
to 320ft. $1,499, chasing-innovation.com

IBUBBLE DIVE CAMERA

Designed to film you during dives, iBubble

is autonomous for up to an hour in the water.

It operates silently, using sonar to avoid reefs

or coral, with emission levels that don’t impact

marine mammals. Twin 1,000-lumen lights

adjust to diminishing light automatically.

$4,499, ibubble.camera

DEEP TREKKER

DTG2 ROV

Decidedly more Jacques

Cousteau than the

others here, the Deep

Trekker can descend to

500ft and work for up

to eight hours on a

90-minute charge.

Upgrade to a 4K camera

for HD video and 18mp

stills. Rugged and with

built-in lighting, it comes

with a remote. $11,899,

deeptrekker.com

ROBOSEA BIKI

Chinese outfit RoboSea has made a “cute”

drone in the shape of a bionic fish that uses

its tail for propulsion. Wireless control is

achieved from your phone via a sonar unit.

BIKI has infrared obstacle avoidance, shoots

4K video and 16mp stills with image

stabilization, and there’s a return-to-base

button. $999, robosea.org