Drone goes to new depths

Blueye Robotics’ HD wide-angle video camera Blueye Pioneer works in low-light conditions and has a colour filter design enabling it to communicate true-colour images, a feature designed to overcome the problem of how colours change below 16 feet underwater.

“Red colors start to fade, and the undersea world becomes green or blue,” explained Christine Spiten, co-founder and strategy director of Blueye Robotics. “A custom algo-rithm was developed to add color back in to photos and video captured by Pioneer.”

The 15lb Blueye Pioneer earned Blueye Robotics the Seawork 2017 Innovation Showcase Spirit of Innovation award as well as the Diving and Underwater category award.

Powered by three thrusters, the drone travels at a speed of 2.5m per second (5 knots and has a hydrodynamic balancing design enabling it to operate in low temperatures. Its live video travels through a thin cable to a surface buoy and then wirelessly to the user.

As well as amateur explorers, the drone is designed to appeal to companies performing water, harbour or underwater hull inspections, plus fish farmers, owners of offshore wind parks and scientists undertaking environmental monitoring.

Organisations already using the device include The Norwegian Society for Search and Rescue, Redningsselskapet and WWF Norway.

Currently in beta testing, the drone will be in production in January 2018.

By Rebecca Jeffrey