Skip to main content

Funding Nemo: Kickstarter underwater drone streams 4K footage from the deep

Nemo, Ultra-High-Definition 4K Underwater Drone

Looking for a way to make summer days spent at the beach a bit more memorable? Perhaps you should consider investing in your very own underwater drone that will let you explore the ocean depth without even having to get your feet wet. That’s where a newly launched Kickstarter campaign comes into play. Called Nemo, it’s an underwater drone that promises to make your next seafaring adventure a whole lot more exciting. And certainly more high-tech.

Created by Chinese startup Aquarobotman, Nemo is capable of descending to a maximum depth of 100 meters (328 feet) beneath the waves at a speed of 3.9 knots, and can be controlled from your iOS or Android mobile device. While it’s doing this, it can livestream 4K/30fps video footage, as well as snap high quality 16-megapixel stills. Using an eight-LED fill light rig, the undersea world will be illuminated with the power of 1,000 lumens for your viewing pleasure. You can even don VR goggles to enjoy the experience as if you were actually there.

“Nemo improves on other underwater drones by using a patented QAS-balance system with a four tandem thruster design that provides the most stable underwater video platform possible,” creator Peng Hou told Digital Trends. “The increased stability and control makes images and video more clear and in focus. All of the other underwater drones cannot compare to Nemo.”

In terms of battery life, you can reportedly expect three hours of power on a single 1.5-hour charge, with the ability to also easily swap out batteries if need be. While we’ll have to get our hands on a unit to know for sure, it certainly sounds like it could be a pretty impressive bit of kit.

As ever, we offer our usual warnings about the potential perils of pledging money to crowdfunding campaigns. However, if you are keen to dip your toe in the water (pun intended), you can head over to the campaign’s Kickstarter page to get involved. Prices for the Nemo drone start at $1,599, a purported $1,050 savings on the $2,599 proposed retail price. It comes with 2x batteries, tether cable, bag, and assorted other accessories. Shipping is set to take place in July 2018.

Editors' Recommendations

Luke Dormehl
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
Meet the game-changing pitching robot that can perfectly mimic any human throw
baseball hitter swings and misses

Who’s your favorite baseball pitcher? Shane McClanahan? Sandy Alcantara? Justin Verlander? Whoever you said, two of the top sports-tech companies in the U.S. -- Rapsodo and Trajekt Sports -- have teamed up to build a robot version of them, and the results are reportedly uncannily accurate.

Okay, so we’re not talking about walking-talking-pitching standalone robots, as great a sci-fi-tinged MLB ad as that would be. However, Rapsodo and Trajekt have combined their considerable powers to throw a slew of different technologies at the problem of building a machine that's able to accurately simulate the pitching style of whichever player you want to practice batting against -- and they may just have pulled it off, too.

Read more
The best portable power stations
EcoFlow DELTA 2 on table at campsite for quick charging.

Affordable and efficient portable power is a necessity these days, keeping our electronic devices operational while on the go. But there are literally dozens of options to choose from, making it abundantly difficult to decide which mobile charging solution is best for you. We've sorted through countless portable power options and came up with six of the best portable power stations to keep your smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other gadgets functioning while living off the grid.
The best overall: Jackery Explorer 1000

Jackery has been a mainstay in the portable power market for several years, and today, the company continues to set the standard. With three AC outlets, two USB-A, and two USB-C plugs, you'll have plenty of options for keeping your gadgets charged.

Read more
CES 2023: HD Hyundai’s Avikus is an A.I. for autonomous boat and marine navigation
Demonstration of NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show

This content was produced in partnership with HD Hyundai.
Autonomous vehicle navigation technology is certainly nothing new and has been in the works for the better part of a decade at this point. But one of the most common forms we see and hear about is the type used to control steering in road-based vehicles. That's not the only place where technology can make a huge difference. Autonomous driving systems can offer incredible benefits to boats and marine vehicles, too, which is precisely why HD Hyundai has unveiled its Avikus AI technology -- for marine and watercraft vehicles.

More recently, HD Hyundai participated in the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, to demo its NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system for recreational boats. The name mashes together the words "neuron" and "boat" and is quite fitting since the Avikus' A.I. navigation tech is a core component of the solution, it will handle self-recognition, real-time decisions, and controls when on the water. Of course, there are a lot of things happening behind the scenes with HD Hyundai's autonomous navigation solution, which we'll dive into below -- HD Hyundai will also be introducing more about the tech at CES 2023.

Read more