This looks like a novel approach when you have to be flying over water. So now you can, with plenty of confidence.

https://www.kickstarter.com/proj ... s-an?ref=nav_search


RedHotPoker

That actually looks pretty cool

Pretty nice design too. Looks much better than similar other products I have seen.
Plus, obviously as you can see in the vid, it handles multiple types of terrain easily.

RedHotPoker

Good find, Poker! Looking at the kickstarter they want about $240 (MSRP) for this thing. Love the concept but a bit rich for my blood.

Jerry

I would buy that

What a crock!
It weighs almost as much as another battery and is going to catch the wind like a big sail.
I note they make no mention of how much it affects performance or battery life.
This "safety" solution could mean you lose your Phantom because it can't get home in a wind that a naked Phantom could easily handle.
The only real use for it would be for landings on perfectly still ponds.
It would be completely worthless on the ocean, leaving your camera just a couple of inches from splashy salt water.
And for all their other proposed difficult landing situations .... hand catching works perfectly and safely and costs a whole lot less.

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2016-4-25 18:53
What a crock!
It weighs almost as much as another battery and is going to catch the wind like a big  ...

lab,

Don't be a Debbie Downer. The good news is that you don't have to buy one! I won't buy on either, too steep for me but I do like the idea. I live on a lake and it'd be great for nice still nights. Especially, taking stills from awkward spots. I could see dropping her down in a cove where my LOS is a bit off and bringing her out of the water enough to get a good shot. To each his/her own. Just my humble opinion. Way too expensive for me. I'd only use it on certain flights.

Jerry

I like the idea and the design, but too expensive for me.

Cool and useful design

Check out this seaplane version of the Phantom.  I'll sell you one cheap:

Only concern would be wind catching it, but should be fine most of the time

I don't usually fly in hurricanes or around tornados...
So wind and weather aren't one or two, of my concerns.

Not much open water here either, except for the N. Saskatchewan river.  Ah, I won't be buying any...

RedHotPoker

Hi all. I'm one of the co-founder of DroneRafts (we make the WaterStrider). I don't intend to advertise the product, but this does happen to be a thread specifically talking about it so it seems appropriate to at least take the opportunity to comment. Therefore, I would suggest that you go take a look at the latest Kickstarter page and pricing as we have made many additions and changes to the page in the past two weeks that could address some of the questions and comments in the discussion above.

The price is actually $159 plus a nominal shipping charge. Given the extensive engineering and development in the product and the added capability that it brings (including in some cases additional usable flight time for filming), we believe the price is very fair. It's on par with the cost of a P4 battery or a hard case for storage and transport. Hundreds (if not thousands) of people saw it in person at the AUVSI Expo earlier this month and most who saw it in person agreed that this is a very innovative and enabling product. You can see a short video of the conference on our YouTube channel. We've also added a video of it flying in very windy conditions to the Kickstarter page as well as more close-up pictures so you can see how it works better.

Hi Adam, thanks a lot for chiming in here and sharing this good news and awesome information.
I also look forward to seeing further innovative developments from you. ;-) & good luck with this products future.
What happened to the above video account?



RedHotPoker

The video is gone?

adam@dronerafts Posted at 2016-5-21 12:18
Hi all. I'm one of the co-founder of DroneRafts (we make the WaterStrider). I don't intend to advert ...

Hey Adam, I considered a similar design for my older Phantom 2/GoPro so that the camera hung down in the water to take underwater photos/videos.  One suggestion - the camera does look way too close to the water.  Find a way to lower the four buoys to increase the lift of the camera.

But still interesting ...

JtrJr-UAV Pilot Posted at 2016-4-25 14:32
Good find, Poker! Looking at the kickstarter they want about $240 (MSRP) for this thing. Love the co ...

FYI, the price is $159 on Kickstarter right now. Feel free to ignore the MSRP numbers that were originally on there. We haven't made a final decision regarding ongoing distribution channels, etc., so the MSRP number that was original on the site is no longer meaningful.

Phantomski Posted at 2016-5-21 13:41
The video is gone?

I dont' know about the video link from the original poster. You can always find the main video (and others if you scroll down and still others on our YouTube page)  at the following link.

https://www.kickstarter.com/proj ... nfident-landings-an

HunterBrooks Posted at 2016-5-21 13:45
Hey Adam, I considered a similar design for my older Phantom 2/GoPro so that the camera hung down  ...

Thanks @HunterBooks. We've explored various heights of the camera above water and the current height actually works really well. In hundreds of normal takeoffs and landings we've never gotten any spray or droplets on the camera. Only in aggressive testing with pretty fast forward motion at touchdown have we managed to get any water anywhere. Even in this case, it was just a few droplets and dried off easily.

There is a trade-off with ground/water stability, height, weight, battery life, and in-flight stability and we think we've engineered a really good spot among those trade-offs. That said, I've made a note that some may wish to have a higher camera position on water.

Thx for the link and the video. Interesting!

Check out the new video that shows some really cool landings that would have otherwise ruined the drone (or at least the camera) but had no damage at all.

The campaign ends on Monday, so time is running short to get a WaterStrider for $159 from our production runs in June and July (June is already full). There are more great videos on the campaign page. Check it out.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dronerafts/waterstrider-perfect-footage-confident-landings-an

The team is really experienced in product development and production. In addition, we have a money-back guarantee for backers, so there is very little risk. If the campaign is not fully funded, you spend nothing. If it is fully funded, our experienced team will deliver. If you're not happy with the WaterStrider, return it within 30 days for a full refund.

Phantomski Posted at 2016-5-21 13:41
The video is gone?

Click the link below the photo box.

I am going to grab one to do some Trout fishing.

@rodger Sounds great. Remember that you only have until Monday! That's when the campaign ends. Keep watching for another video coming out soon. You, in particular, might really like it!

adam@dronerafts Posted at 2016-5-21 12:18
Hi all. I'm one of the co-founder of DroneRafts (we make the WaterStrider). I don't intend to advert ...

I would be very interested in testing this bad boy out.  With so many lakes in Minnesota, that would sell very well, but till I see customers tests, buying for me is still on the table.

how far off the ground does this put the camera once its on land?

in your tests, does the rotor wash (when landing on water), end up with any water on the drone? I would imagine a misting would be likely.

Cool product, can you tell me wife she needs to let me in on this?

@microcyb We've had an independent test completed last week. We are anticipating the release of their video at any time.

@digdat0 On ground, the clearance is 3.7 inches for the P3 and just a bit more clearance than that for the P4. If you look on the campaign page, you can see a rock field that we landed in with the P4. These rocks were between softball and soccer ball sized!! No problem at all and the camera is nowhere close to touching anything. There is also an extremely rigid carbon fiber tube passing directly beneath the camera gimbal as well, which provides further protection just in case.

We've completed hundreds of water takeoffs and landings and the drone and camera do not get wet. The rotor wash from the 4 props creates a bit of a dead zone near the camera. We've tested a couple of different heights above water, and the current setup works really well. Only in very aggressive forward motion landings on water (like 10-15 mph forward movement at touchdown) have we managed to splash a bit of water onto the drone.

Tell your wife that the cost of replacing a damaged camera is $500+. The cost of accidentally losing the drone in water (which happens all the time) is way more than that. If she is a new pilot, the WaterStrider will allow her to easily takeoff and land the drone without any worries about it tipping over and breaking props. Plus, who doesn't want to go land in some lake and point the camera down to see what's interesting under there?!

love ur work
keep doing it

Video unavailable??????

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