World of Flying Camera Drone Continues its Speciation At a Rapid Clip

For some time now, the market has finally worked its head around the concept of the “flying cameraman”, a small, compact UAV that zips around to autonomously film whatever is going on.

HOVERAir is addressing one shortcoming of most models with its specially outfitted AQUA Series, a buoyant, fully waterproofed design. The name is relatively fresh on the scene, having launched in 2022 with their first model, the HOVERAir X1, but their parent firm, Zero Zero Robotics, has been around for more than a decade. (Their Hover Camera Passport was a pretty notable unit in 2017, making its way to Apple retail stores, too.) Zero Zero felt their efforts and developing their first drone, the “travel-friendly” X1, warranted an all-new brand. Now that X1 design acts as the basis for the AQUA, with a full IP67 waterproof rating.

That’s a pretty big deal for a camera drone, meaning the AQUA should be able to handle submersion of 3 feet for up to 30 minutes, more or less. Ardent tech fans understand there’s some fudge-factor in all these ratings, depending on pressures and movements, but that level of waterproofing works just fine with a good floatation system. And that is certainly here, thanks to a lightweight, buoyant ring around the AQUA.

Command & control is accomplished with some good old automation, here, with “AI-powered tracking” to keep it hovering around the subject and keeping it all in the scene. There’s some interesting options in the “Smart Flight Modes” HOVERAir touts, too, like “Snorkel Mode” and “Mount Mode”. The AQUA has respectable performance for a sub-249-gram drone, offering a stated endurance of 23 minutes, a top speed of 34 mph, and Level 7 ()33-knot) wind resistance. The AQUA isn’t a one-launch drone, either, as the demonstrations show it can recover itself and take off from a (glassy smooth) water surface, and even flip itself over if it lands inverted.

FMI: www.hoverair.com