Submersible watercrafts — you love them, I love them, everybody loves them. Let’s face it, though: even with your cushy middle management job, you can’t afford them. In the meantime, you can satiate your submarining desires with the Hydroview, a smartphone-controlled remotely-operated underwater vehicle.
Made by Aquabotix, the mini-submersible can pair up with both Android and iOS smartphones, giving you control of the unmanned vehicle using a downloadable app. Equipped with LED lights and a video camera, it sends a continuous live feed of everything it sees underwater, so you can view the scenes just like if you’re in a real submarine.
The Aquabotix Hydroview is a remote-controlled submersible that measures 14.6 x 19 x 7 inches (w x l x h) and weighs 8 pounds. Used in the water, it connects via cable (up to 200 feet) to a floating base station on the surface, which then communicates with the phone over WiFi. Operation is done using both onscreen controls and the built-in accelerometer (yep, like all those racing games on mobile), with the app allowing you to take stills from the feed at any time.
Two versions will be made: Sport and Pro. The former features a top speed of 3 knots, maximum depth of 75 feet and up to two hours of running time. The latter gets a max speed of 5 knots, maximum depth of 150 feet and three hours of battery life.
Pricing for the Aquabotix Hydroview Sport is $2,995, although the few they had in stock from November have already sold out. The company claims new inventory is due by end of December, so bookmark their page if you’re planning to get one. No availability or pricing details yet for the Pro version.
[Source Aquabotix]