Eternal Angler
Administrator
First and foremost, a consumer underwater drone like the Gladius Mini isn't made for the public sector like public safety such as a firefighter or police officer, there's always been a reason why there's both the public and private sector for the development of technology, as well as commercial vs consumer technology. I thought that was pretty obvious, but I do understand that with so many cities' making cut backs on funding, along with the consumer underwater drone technology advancing and being quite impressive, that both the fire and police departments might be interested in trying some of this new consumer technology like the Gladius Mini.
Here's the problem that comes in hand, there's strict requirements companies have to meet when providing radios, hand cuffs, flashlights, hoses, wrenches, axes, other tools, weapons, vehicles, for both law enforcement and first responders. Many of these things are government, state, and city issued. There's a reason why they're so costly, quality and performance is key, they aren't just using consumer products which tend to be made out of cheaper material and have a big profit margin.
As I explained to someone in the Facebook post, due to the Gladius Mini lacking both the battery power and motors fast enough to run against the strong current, which the Firefighter did actually complain about, what if the drone stops moving and the the tether gets wrapped around the citizen and causes him to drowned. What if the tether even gets wrapped around the propeller of the boat carrying the divers, then disables the main police boat from doing search and rescue. I know, no one likes hearing the what if scenarios, but considering how every year the FAA is making new rules because drone pilots are pushing the limits with with aerial drones which sometimes could lead to casualties, you have to understand this is the new technological world we live in and we're still just learning as we go on.
And when it comes to new rules and regulations of underwater drones, don't kid yourselves, they're coming... Just because they aren't there, doesn't mean you shouldn't be cautious and think about liability. I know Japan is already working on some as we speak, I suspect United States will follow.
Another independent company owner that sells underwater drones stated "he's had a lot of success selling the M2 systems for public safety response. Any tool that can add any degree of enhancement to public safety missions is better than none."
I totally understand his reasoning, if there's any chance of helping an individual, any technology that can help, it should be used. But that's kind of like saying, any random person that's good at swimming should be willing to save someone from drowning in a river that has strong currents, things could go seriously wrong, right? There's a reason why we use trained swimmers and proper certified tools of the trade. There's a reason why the military uses technology from are special sector for war, mostly public, but sometimes even private, which cost can be upwards of 10s of thousands of dollars because it has to meet a high quality standard. And for the most part, I don't hear about many police officers using DJI's popular consumer aerial drones for any of their work in the sky, I'm sure you can maybe find out one or two videos on youtube, but it's not common.
I think companies like Geneinno are pushing the liabilities a bit when they put out a video of a search and rescue with the T1, showing the underwater drone grab a manikin, mimicking a drowning victim, looks great and all, great for marketing, but believe me, this technology just isn't there yet with consumer underwater drone. I don't think Chasing has ever marketed their consumer underwater drone toward public safety, but it's obvious firefighters and police officers might be buying them considering this recent complaint, I even seen a representative from Chasing trying to meet the demands and questions of the firefighter, even making excuses for the underwater drone not working properly for his scenario. Some of these reps are Chinese as well, so don't expect them to fully know American culture or have any education in the work environment of firefighters and police officers here in the United States. Again, this is why there's a designated commercial sector that actually has trained representatives from a commercial underwater drone company which can answer these tough questions and meet their demands.
Bottom line, everyone's just trying to make a buck. If Chasing or Geneinno can sell more drones in these sectors, I'm sure they will. Now Chasing has been posting a few videos of the Chasing M2 working in commercial work, like oil rigs, which I have to say is more industrial than just commercial... I'm still weary of this, I'm sure it works just fine for the most part, but with longevity, plastic propellers in water where there might be oil and other chemicals? Recently someone called out Chasing for using screws on their grabber arm that started rusting just after one dive. I know QYSEA has entered the industrial sector and they've upgraded their W6 underwater drone with metal propellers, I think even the V6 Plus uses metal propellers as well, these model drones are around $7-10k I've heard. If you look at QYSEA's catalog, it specifically list the W6 as industrial grade. What's the M2 cost? $2,700. For the most part, I thought the M2 was more comparable to something like the V6s, which I think QYSEA has made more for the consumer sector from my understanding. Now I can't speak for the Chasing M2 Pro, maybe that will be more beefier with stronger parts and better for oil rigs.
Now, I could totally see using the M2 for things in lower level commercial work like boat inspection, dock inspection, aquaculture inspection like fish farms and even scientific exploration, sure. Basically a lot less liability too, but here's the thing folks, we all know a lot of these new underwater drone companies like Chasing, Geneinno, and QYSEA have just sprouted up due to the technology finally being more affordable for consumers. If some of these companies want to conquer both ends of the spectrum, both commercial and consumer, even the public sector, go for it, but they need to be more thorough in explaining which drones are made for each type of sector.
I mean look, we're all in fairly new territory, so I expect there to be some leniency and respect on both ends, I'm sure many will disagree with what I've even written here too and have their own opinion on the topic, but I hope this just helps bring awareness to others that aren't quite sure which underwater drone is specifically made for certain commercial and consumer purposes. All I can say is, make sure you do enough research, read reviews and comments on the Facebook Groups, go on forums, even watch youtube videos. If the firefighter had done his research, he'd know that the Gladius Mini has about 1 hour of run time with the motors and LED lighting at full strength. I'll let you in on a secret, well it's not really a secret, but majority of drone companies, both aerial and underwater, advertise that their max run time with their LED lighting and speed at the lowest setting. In relation to Chasing, they advertise the Gladius Mini with a 2 hour drone, sorry, it doesn't have the run time in a scenario like this firefighter is describing, not even close. I hope everyone realizes that.
Ya know, going back to quality standards, I've heard the Fifish V6 motors breaking down just after sucking up some fishing line, even the plastic propellers wore down after sucking up some gravel and seaweed after a few dives. I've heard the plastic propellers on the Gladius Mini hold up a lot better, but this is still not a drone you send out to look for a suicide jumper from a bridge, with a strong current.
Look, I'm sure with time, as the consumer technology improves, battery run time gets more efficient, and the material gets stronger yet more reasonably priced. Hey, maybe some of these consumer underwater drones could be used in the public sector and the consumer/commercial sector start to merge, but I think we're still in the early stages. And really, I don't want to see companies like Chasing overwhelmed with negative reviews from the public sector, which could turn away the average consumer because they think the Gladius Mini is a bad drone. It definitely isn't, I still consider the Mini in top of its class for the most stable video footage, as well as being both dependable and resilient, after reading that firefighter's review, you probably wouldn't know that right?
I'm going to end this with a cool video of some drones magnificently putting out a fire at a commercial building, pretty darn neat right? Sad to say, these type of commercial drones cost upwards of 10s of thousands of dollars. In order to lift that heavy weight of the hose they're using very powerful motors, in order to drive the powerful motors they're using more expensive batteries that are more efficient, as well as stronger propeller blades made out of tougher material to deal with the harsh heat from the fire along with the chemicals from the smoke.
