The orange and black HydroView Plus Remote-Controlled Underwater Vehicle from Aquabotix features an LG Electronics F160S camera with a CMOS image sensor. It provides a live video feed to the water's surface and captures HD 1280 x 720/30p video and 1MP photos underwater at a maximum depth of 150'. It has a wide-angle lens with an effective focal length of 3.2mm and a fast f/2.4 maximum aperture for clear low-light shooting.
The acrylic dome port for the lens increases the angle of view for wider coverage, to counteract the decrease in coverage that occurs underwater. A highly useful tool for underwater exploration, the HydroView allows you to study marine life and environments and perform inspections under your boat, and can also be employed to check water depths.
The vehicle has all the features of the HydroView Sport, including the rechargeable battery pack, with a couple of key additions and enhancements. It includes a longer 150' chemical-resistant Cat 5e cable for connecting your vehicle to the supplied topside box, and this can be increased to 200' with the use of a separately available cable extension from Aquabotix, to allow you to drive the vehicle further. The HydroView is actually designed to be able to operate on a cable up to a length of 300'. A higher-capacity 32GB memory card is supplied for capturing still images or up to 130 min of high-definition video, and 8 and 16GB cards are available separately. The orientation sensor is integrated into the Plus version, providing you with readings on yaw, pitch, roll and heading relative to true north. This sensor aids in navigation of the vehicle and is extremely useful in poor water quality conditions. Additionally, auto controls that let you set pitch and heading, which are available only with an optional upgrade on the Sport version, are integrated in this Plus version with no upgrade required.
Various upgrades are sold separately, including an optional depth sensor that gives you readings on the underwater depth of the vehicle, allowing you to drive it to the exact depth needed for your purposes. This is also a useful tool when you find something underwater that you want to be able to locate again. Also available separately is a sensor that detects and indicates the temperature of the water where the vehicle is swimming. Optional extra auto controls that let you set depth and thrust can be added, as well. Propeller covers can also be purchased separately to protect the blades from debris and damage.
The vehicle's buoyancy is set with salt water use in mind by default. The optional buoyancy management and landing gear system offers manual control over this attribute, allowing you to add weights in order to change the buoyancy to the preferred setting for fresh water or salt water with a lower or higher salinity level.
The HydroView Plus gives you the ability to navigate through the water using your iPad or laptop as a remote control via 802.11n Wi-Fi connectivity, or through the LAN connection using an optional Ethernet cable. The HydroView App for iPad or PC, when coupled with the HydroView software, is used to view the vehicle's live video feed on your iPad or computer's display and control the vehicle's movements and functions. Mac operating systems are not compatible.