Dr. Xiong Minglei from Peking University developed an underwater robot for the Antarctic, and used two tail fins instead of a propeller. Propellers were not ideal because of noise, packaging concerns, cost, safety, and the requirement for traditional propeller drones to drive via tether. The fin design allowed for smooth underwater operation and made for better data collection and camera transmission. Along with his team at Robosea Dr. Minglei is now running a Kickstarter campaign for the first production run of these underwater robots, called BIKI.
BIKI moves at a speed of 1.12 miles per hour and can reach a maximum depth of 196 feet. The entire system operates at a 55 decibel level. The camera included with the units takes 4K Ultra HD 3840x2160P, 16 MegaPixel video and can store between 90 and 120 minutes of footage on its 32 Gigabyte internal memory. Two 114 Lumen lights can illuminate deeper areas for the 150 degree wide angle lens to take video, and an onboard camera stabilizer is designed to give a smooth view as the camera swims through the water.
The proprietary controls inside BIKI allow for wireless operation, automatic obstacle avoidance and balance, route customization through the app, and built in GP. If the signal is lost between the user and the drone it is programmed to return to surface and return to base.
BIKI weighs 1.1 kilograms and is 148x265x106 millimeters in size. The 2600 milliAmp hour battery can run between 90 and 120 minutes and requires 2 hours to charge. Obstacle avoidance is done through infrared ray and can detect items in the 7-30 centimeter distance range.
This is a highly produced and well polished Kickstarter campaign. BIKI is shown in several situations with well done video evidence of every one of its specifications. Propulsion using a fin drive instead of a propeller is a great innovation but another plus for the project looks to be the extensive testing and manpower already put into the project. The campaign has blasted past its $20,000 goal after a few days and will run until Friday, July 21, 2017. First units are expected to ship in September 2017.