Fishing Drones Have Arrived: The Ludicrous PowerRay, a Fishing
Drone that Uses Sonar and 4K Video to Catch Fish
Date:
1/8/17
Tackle type:
Drone/FishFinder
Manufacturer:
PowerVision
Reviewer:
Zander
It was just a matter time before the drones conquered the seas and this CES
PowerVision, a robotics company and maker of consumer drones, introduced the
PowerRay submersible at CES 2017 in Las Vegas. The company boldly states that
the PowerRay underwater robot brings “ground-breaking features designed to
revolutionize freshwater, saltwater, or ice fishing for today’s recreational
fishing enthusiasts and casual hobbyists.”
The Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) is the event for all things electronics and this year it
seemed like the theme was how many “things” that companies could squeeze the
internet into or automate. As you might expect drones continued to be a hot
topic at the event, but arguably the most interesting drone didn’t come from
well known brands such as DJI or Yuneec but rather PowerVision Technology,
headquartered in San Mateo, CA.
Don't mind the mermaid, is she
holding the future? meet the soon to be launched PowerVision PowerRay fishing
robot
While most other
drones were flying high in the increasingly crowded skies the PowerRay instead
looks to dominate our rivers, lakes, and even the oceans, and is targeting
anglers in particular.
We checked out the new PowerRay
drone at PowerVision's booth at CES2017 today
If you thought fish already had it bad wait until
they face the PowerRay robot that features an optional add-on component,
PowerRay Fishfinder, which leverages sonar systemto detect fish with precision and sends images of fish and underwater
landscape, temperature data, as well as alerts to users through internal Wi-Fi
to enable fishermen to make on the fly angling decisions. The drone can dive up
to 98 feet underwater and use sonar to detect fish up to 131 feet below the
drone. The drone’s internal Wi-Fi system allows transmission of images and data
over a distance of 262 feet. The PowerRay Fishfinder is designed to be easy to
install to the robot and can also be detached as a stand-alone fish finding
device.
PowerVision representatives
explain how the PowerRay will change fishing
The PowerRay fishfinder can be
used with the drone or standalone
A closer look at the actual
PowerRay Fishfinder prototype
Using the PowerRay Mobile App, anglers can view
real-time transmitted photo or video captured by PowerRay’s integrated 4K UHD
camera on any iOS or Android mobile devices, in addition to receiving
fish-identifying images, underwater data, and alerts. Anglers can also view the
real-time position of the PowerRay robot, select travel mode, speed, and light
setting, and operate the integrated 4K UHD camera functions for underwater
photography and videography, all through the PowerRay Mobile App.
The PowerRay has a sleek
hydrodynamic profile
Propulsion capable of two
integrated props
Now the ludicrous part, the PowerRay is not just
designed to find fish or film your catch, it is also designed to catch fish! The
drone can employ an optional, remotely operated precision remote bait drop.
Users can secure baits and operate the PowerRay robot to deliver the bait
precisely to the desired location, monitor and control the entire fishing
experience through the real-time viewing in the PowerRay Mobile App. Anglers can
even turn on an internal fish luring light with a blue hue to attract fish to
the location and bait.
The PowerRay is not just for
finding and filming fish it is designed to catch fish
If all this doesn’t blow your mind yet how about
getting further immersed in the experience? Anglers can even have a full on
first person view (FPV) of what the drone is seeing and even control the robot
through a wearable VR goggles. With gravity and gesture recognition
capabilities, the PowerVision VR Goggles are designed to enable anglers to
interact with and manipulate the drone simply by tilting their heads to control
turns and diving depth. With this technology you can literally “swim” with fish,
find out where the lunkers are hiding, and present your bait.
Conventional controls...
...and VR goggle controls are
designed to give anglers a first person view of their hunt for fish
Imagine searching for fish and
positioning baits while remaining stationary like in ice-fishing applications
For video fanatics the PowerRay will open up new
doors and details for the 4K UHD camera include a 100-degree wide-angle lens,
MP4 video at 30fps, Burst Mode photo shooting at 5fps in 12 megapixels, 1080P
real-time image and video streaming, integrated adjustable light for photography
and videography. The drone can film and fish underwater up to 4 hours at a time
and the fishfinder’s operating time is the same. The base PowerRay robot weighs
in at only 7.7lbs and the various accessories can add another 4.4lbs if fully
integrated.
The PowerRay complete kit with
accessories can be easily transported in a single case
Is this fishing? One thing for
sure the dawn of the fishing drone era has arrived
The PowerRay
looks like a very exciting product, but the proof will come when we actually get
to experience what the robot can really do in the field. It is a lot to take in,
and while all of this may sound ludicrous, we all know that “ludicrous” can also
be groundbreaking and exciting all at the same time, and what might seem foreign
today can sometimes become the norm. As with drones in the air, the technology
is advancing faster than the regulation, so we will have to see how fish and
game authorities respond to technology such as this. Can you really call it
“fishing” if a drone is in the water doing all the things that the PowerRay
claims to be able to do? Maybe, maybe not, but one thing for sure, the fishing
drones have arrived and fish should be afraid, very afraid.
