Eric Hu worked in research and development for both waterproof cameras and remote control airplanes when inspiration struck him to develop waterproof drones. In 2013 he founded SwellPro as a waterproof drone company and since their first Waterproof unmanned aerial vehicle patent application the company has been creating aerial vehicles intended for both water and air use. Partnered now with Urban Drones, the group is crowdfunding Spry, a waterproof drone that can submerge and fly.
Spry is rated at IP67 waterproof level, able to be submerged up to one meter for thirty minutes. The full unit is 233.5 x 249 x 90 millimeters with a 270 millimeter motor diameter. The craft uses 6045 propellers and weighs 538 grams without its battery. The 3600 milliAmp hour lithium polymer battery weighs 196 kilograms and requires 70 minutes to fully charge for a flight time between 15 and 17 minutes. The drone can fly up to 200 meters height and 800 meters away from its controller. Flight modes include auto-takeoff, auto-hover, follow me, return to home, return to remote, orbit, and autonomous. The remote control is IP66 waterproof rated and has a 4.3 inch 800 x 480 pixel screen. An option for this crowdfunding round of drones is a set of video goggles that will give the user a move immersive flight tracking experience. One interesting aspect of the system is the idea that users can send the video feed to several devices at once if they access the app – the video output isn’t linked solely to the remote control.
The funding campaign for Spry has gained a lot of attention, blowing past its modest funding goal and attracting a large number of drone enthusiasts with questions and suggestions for the group. SwellPro and Urban Drones have worked on two previous projects together and their production facility is already established – the group hopes to broadcast a series of videos from inside the factory showing how drones are manufactured and assembled. The campaign ends on October 1 and current shipping schedule is for December 2018.