Flys, Floats, Dives. I could see some practical uses w/divers & search/recovery

[CuzzA]

Pretty cool. Thoughts?

 

[Bob DBF]

Well it's one piece of gear I haven't found on the bottom... yet.


Bob

 

[CuzzA]

Indeed, but they are becoming increasingly common. I have some buddies that bring theirs when hook and line fishing and get some great video shots overhead. As for search and rescue, I could see the tech being common place one day on dive boats to find drifting divers and also executing search and recovery from depths where deco puts other divers at high risk. I've read quite a few stories of the first responding rescue divers finding themselves taking chamber rides.

 

[Bob DBF]

Indeed, but they are becoming increasingly common. I have some buddies that bring theirs when hook and line fishing and get some great video shots overhead. As for search and rescue, I could see the tech being common place one day on dive boats to find drifting divers and also executing search and recovery from depths where deco puts other divers at high risk. I've read quite a few stories of the first responding rescue divers finding themselves taking chamber rides.

The problem with the concept of them searching at depth is that the drone has to be programmed with it's path prior to entering the water since the remote control will cease to work, also the depth limit is probably reached in the video. ROV's have been working for decades and have quite a track record, but the cost and maintenance will keep it out of play for most individuals. The cost of all my gear couldn't put a down payment on a good one now.

The thought of of a drone searching for a drifting diver is a good idea however.


Bob

 

[CuzzA]

No doubt they are expensive. I looked into it a year ago and found at a minimum I was looking at $1k for anything decent with heads up display and enough battery power to last longer than just several minutes. Adding water proof floatation added even more to the price tag. I didn't see where this prototype required preprogramming. Nevertheless, I thought the dive mode with buoyancy control was pretty cool and worth sharing.