Chinese language drone producer HOVERAir has simply launched their newest drone: the AQUA. This AI-powered drone is self-flying, which suggests it doesn’t require a distant or piloting, and it’s 100% waterproof, which suggests it could observe you and seize pictures when you are kayaking, browsing, crusing, or doing any water-related actions which are normally dangerous for digital camera gear. So, let’s take a more in-depth take a look at it!
After years of competing round digital camera specs, it lastly appears that firms try to carry some innovation again to the drone market. Certainly, Antigravity just lately unveiled the A1 8K 360 drone. DJI Mavic 4 Professional, which we reviewed, has a totally rotating gimbal to create distinctive pictures, and HOVERAir simply launched the primary waterproof drone to the market, which doesn’t even require a distant controller.
HOVERAir AQUA – options
The HOVERAir AQUA is a comparatively compact and light-weight drone that measures solely 202 x 206 x 64mm (7.95 x 8.11 x 2.52 in), weighing 249g (0.55 lb). This below-250g weight signifies that in most nations, you gained’t want drone registration, and it’s C0 licensed for EU customers.
What makes the AQUA distinctive is that it’s IP-67 waterproof rated and that, like a seaplane plane, it incorporates a steady float on the backside, which suggests it has buoyancy capabilities. Briefly, you may take off and land from the bottom/seashore, or immediately in a lake or sea.
Entrance of the HOVERAir AQUA. Picture credit score: HOVERAir
On the entrance of the drone, you’ll discover a built-in 1.6″ AMOLED show and three management buttons. This display lets you simply change your digital camera settings, preview and assessment your footage, and think about the remaining storage and battery life. Speaking concerning the newest, the AQUA options 128GB of built-in storage, so it doesn’t require a reminiscence card, and you’ve got a most flight time of 23 minutes. After all, you may swap the batteries for prolonged runtime.
The AQUA’s built-in digital camera. Picture credit score: HOVERAir
The HOVERAir AQUA incorporates a built-in digital camera with a 1/1.28” CMOS sensor and an 18mm F/2.55 full-frame equal lens that ought to provide you with a large 95° area of view. The lens has a hydrophobic coating, and a “self-heating anti-fog expertise” to ensure you seize crystal clear footage with out droplets in entrance of the lens.
The AQUA can seize footage in as much as 4K100P in 16:9 mode, and as much as 4K30P in vertical mode. In response to the corporate, there are 5 recording modes: regular, slow-motion, vertical capturing, HDR, and 10-bit H-Log to get essentially the most dynamic vary. The utmost video bitrate is 160Mbps.
Nevertheless, please take into account that the AQUA solely has a 1-axis gimbal. The drone has digital picture stabilization and horizon-leveling capabilities in addition to the corporate’s “SmoothCapture 3.0” stabilization algorithm, however all are digital processes. HOVERAir claims that the drone can deal with winds as much as 33 knots, which equals 61km/h.
Flight modes and management
As talked about beforehand, the HOVERAir AQUA is a self-flying drone powered by AI. The drone comes with a distant known as the LightHouse, which lets you management the takeoff, touchdown, and set off recording. The LightHouse additionally acts as just a little tracker that maintains a connection between you and the drone. In response to the corporate, “if the gap ever exceeds a preset restrict, AQUA will fly again inside vary routinely. Meaning you may keep absolutely immersed in your exercise with out worrying that AQUA will drift away.”
The HOVERAir AQUA LightHouse drone distant. Picture credit score: HOVERAir
The AQUA options 15 built-in flight modes, together with Observe, Dolly Monitor, Zoom Out, Orbit, Spiral, and Chook’s Eye. Moreover, you may as well change drone controls to handbook with the non-compulsory Beacon & Joysticks.
Picture credit score: HOVERAir
Value and availability
The HOVERAir AQUA is on the market to preorder on Indiegogo for $999 for the Normal combo, $1,199 for the Fly Extra combo, and $1,399 for the Land and Sea bundle. The drone ought to begin transport in December 2025.
For extra data and to preorder, please go to the Indiegogo marketing campaign web page right here.
On the finish of each crowdfunding-related article, we remind you to please pay attention to the dangers when backing a undertaking on a crowdfunding platform. Additionally, please learn the platform’s phrases of use and keep in mind that there might be important delays when delivering the product. Some merchandise don’t get delivered in any respect.
What do you consider this waterproof drone? Do you assume it may allow you to seize distinctive pictures? Did you ever lose or harm a drone making an attempt to seize watersports footage? Don’t hesitate to tell us within the feedback beneath!
