Zero Zero Robotics has announced a new autonomous drone that pairs the simplicity of its HoverAir X1 with the improved video capabilities of its HoverAir X1 Pro and, for the first time, complete waterproofing. The new HoverAir Aqua has an IP67 rating and is designed to float, take-off, and land on water instead of an outstretched hand. It will potentially be an easier way to film activities on the water like kayaking while your hands are occupied with a paddle, but it’s also the company’s most expensive drone to date.
As with previous additions to the HoverAir line, Zero Zero Robotics is making the Aqua available for preorder through an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, with early bird pricing starting at $999. The 2.7K/30fps HoverAir X1 launched last year at $349, while the company’s most expensive drone, the 8K/30fps X1 Promax, is $699. Using a 1/1.3-inch sensor the new HoverAir Aqua is capable of capturing up to 4K/100fps slow motion video, and it features a new hydrophobic self-heating lens to help clear water droplets.
To simplify launches, HoverAir drones typically take off from your hand; an approach that also gives the drone’s camera a chance to lock onto you so it can track you during flight. When taking off from water, the Aqua usually won’t be able to see you, so the drone comes with a new wireless accessory called the Lighthouse you wear on your arm so that it can track you.
The Lighthouse doubles as a remote control for triggering take-offs and landings and selecting one of the HoverAir Aqua’s 15 autonomous flight modes including following from behind or filming while flying in circles around you. It boosts follow speeds to up to 34mph, up from 26mph for the X1 Pro and Promax. And while the Aqua can remain stable in winds up to nearly 40mph, battling strong gusts could reduce the drone’s estimated 23 minutes of flight time per charge. There’s also a new Virtual Tether feature so that if the drone floats too far away while not in use, it will automatically take off and return to you.
The HoverAir Aqua weighs less than 249 grams so you won’t have to register it with aviation authorities, and it’s the first drone from the company with a built-in 1.6-inch AMOLED screen for seeing live previews, changing recording settings, or reviewing footage captured to its 128GB of built-in storage. The Aqua even knows when it’s upside down in the water and can flip itself before a take-off. And while floating it can point its gimballed camera down into the water for capturing the action below the waves, but without any of its tracking capabilities.
