Houman Nikmanesh wanted a personal propulsion device to move himself or a small watercraft through the water. Along with his team at Bixpy he has developed the Bixpy Jet, a modular and portable water-jet propulsion system. The Bixpy Jet is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to fund their first five hundred production units.
The jet can be attached to a kayak or paddleboard to make their watercraft motorized, or an attachment will allow swimmers to be propelled through the water. The page says that an average adult can swim at a speed of 2.2 miles per hour with the jet, on a battery charge of 45 minutes. The trigger mechanism used to control the Bixpy Jet has two speeds, and the lower speed keeps the battery charged for 90 minutes. For swimmers the jet produces a 300 Watt output and 25 pounds of thrust.
When attached to a stand-up paddleboard or kayak the jet can help reach speeds in the 6-7 mile per hour range, with a 60 minute battery life. A wireless remote allows the user to choose between ten different speeds when moving forward and three different speeds when moving in reverse.
The jet is made of corrosion resistant materials with anodized aluminum and 316 stainless steel featured heavily. Aluminum heat sinks are designed into the motor housing to cool the system and also add a design element. Components are rated to 100 feet depth and are rated IP67 or IP68. (Between this and the iPhone announcement this is the most I’ve ever thought about Ingress Protection in one week.) The remote, lithium ion battery pack and battery box all float for easier retrieval.
Based on this Kickstarter campaign Bixpy looks positioned well to enter the personal water propulsion market. We’ve covered two different thrusters here at ENGINEERING.com, Fathom One and the T100, but this is the first system I’ve seen that acts a swimming assist device. We’re getting closer to Sealab 2021 all the time. The campaign ends on October 14, 2016 and if successful first units are expected to ship in March, 2017.
