At this year’s CES, FIFISH P3 by Qysea Technology was honored with an Innovation Award. FIFISH P3 is the first truly professional underwater robot and takes underwater drone exploration to a whole new level. They also just announced their crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo[link]. Last week, I had a chance to speak with Belinda Zhang, CEO of Qysea Technology. Belinda shared her insights about the emerging ROV industry and the FIFISH project mission.
Q: What motivated your team to create an underwater drone like the FIFISH P3?
Belinda: As drone technology has improved along with better and smaller 4K sport camera systems, we saw that there simply wasn’t a quality option for remote underwater filming. As divers and video enthusiasts ourselves, we knew we could build a better system, a totally revolutionary platform with performance that would be suitable for consumers as well as professionals alike. The result is the FIFISH P3, the perfect vehicle to capture epic moments underwater.
Q: What was the underwater drone market like previously and how is it changing today? Why have underwater drones becoming more popular in recent years?
Belinda: Due to the unique challenges of the marine environment and the cost, most equipment for ocean exploration using unmanned underwater vehicles was previously limited to military and industrial applications. Later on, a market began to establish among oceanographers, filmmakers and diving instructors but such devices had steep prices – over $10,000. There are demands from these professionals for more affordable, user-friendly devices and today, broader consumer groups such as diving hobbyists, fishermen, or just simply ocean lovers who dare not dive into the sea, are emerging with a desire for a consumer-friendly underwater drone.
Q: What’s so special about FIFISH P3? How is it different from other underwater drones?
Belinda: We have been developing and refining FIFISH P3 for 2 years to achieve professional level features and performance. The result is an industry leading 4K underwater camera with ultra-wide 162° FOV and powerful 4000 Lumens light support. Powered by an accurate and user-friendly control system, FIFISH P3 can perform delicate maneuvers in tricky spaces up to 100 meters deep. FIFISH P3 takes the danger and difficulty out of underwater exploration and provides an affordable ROV video platform that is easy enough for anyone to use. With the FIFISH P3 underwater ROV, anyone can remotely explore the wonders of the ocean depths and capture Ultra-High Definition (UHD) video and images.
Q: What do you think is the most important feature of FIFISH P3?
Belinda: The on-board camera is the first true professional level customized camera thanks to a 1-inch, 20 Megapixel CMOS sensor that is almost 4 times the size of typical underwater camera sensors. Its powerful 4000 Lumens lighting system is specially designed for underwater performance in low-light conditions. The system uses enhanced contrast and an ISO up to 12800 to achieve greater video detail and 4K resolution for UHD level video quality.
Q: Is this your first crowdfunding campaign? Why did you choose Indiegogo?
Belinda: We have chosen to release our product on the Indiegogo platform because its community embraces innovation and greatly supports visionary makers. We have perfected the most advance underwater high-definition video ROV of its kind and now need the support of backers to move forward with mass production. User contributions will be rewarded with an incredible tool for exploration and video and will help us move into the production phase in a way that keeps the device affordable. We look forward to working with our backers to make FIFISH P3 a success and provide everyone with an incredible underwater experience.
Learn more at http://www.qysea.com/product.html
