Underwater drone Blueye Pioneer explores water bodies at record depths

04 July 2017

There are not too many high-quality underwater drones today. All of them have a limit of immersion depth: maximum of 100 m. All except one - the Blueye Pioneer, which can conduct underwater exploration at a depth of 150 m.

A new mini-submarine with three engines was developed by the company from Norway Blueye Robotics. Using a long cable, the drone is connected to a surface buoy, which can be controlled by user via an application on mobile gadgets. For reliable signal, the distance from the device to the buoy should not exceed 30 m.

Technical specifications of Blueye Pioneer:

• weight: 6.8 kg;
• under water speed: 2.5 m/s (5 knots);
• maximum underwater time: 2 hours;
• camera resolution: 1080p/30 frames/s;
• LED floodlight;
• inbuilt software that provides color correction when shooting underwater.

Currently, the developers are testing Blueye Pioneer. The production of a unique drone starts in January 2018. However, it is already possible to pre-order a mini-submarine, paying for its full cost – $3500. The device comes with a 75m cable. A longer cable for using drone at 150m depth will be available later.