LAS VEGAS — A revolutionary immersive fishing experience.
That was the bait that got me — a novice fisherman whose pulled in a few halibut and salmon over the years — to stop by the booth of PowerVision at Tuesday night’s CES Unveiled.
The maker of an underwater drone and fish detection system certainly was one of the more novel products on a show floor filled with unusual and bizarre concepts.
The idea behind the PowerRay?
Use an underwater drone to catch fish, and have fun watching the action below the surface like never before. The drone also comes with an optional “precision remote bait drop” so you can set the hook at the desired location to catch that prized grouper or catfish.
“We already have drones that fly, we wanted to have one that swam,” PowerVision’s Merlin Love told me. “When we were talking about what you were going to use a drone underwater for — not just for photography and video — but we thought: People might like to watch fishing with it, and things like that, so we integrated a fish finder.”
The baiting hook came next, which in theory could make it easier to catch fish.
Love, for his part, tells me he’s not yet landed a fish with the drone-based system. “I’ve never taken it fishing, I’ve only driven it,” said Love, adding that the idea is that “you literally can have the bait sitting in front of the camera and watch your fish come up, and snatch it.”
Exciting stuff for those who love a good fish tale.
The underwater drone goes beyond fishing, with Love noting that there’s been interest from those looking to use the devices to evaluate underwater pylons and other equipment. It can maintain operations underwater for up to four hours.
Pricing has not yet been set on the device, but it will likely be in the $2,000 to $3,000 range with first shipments set for the Spring. PowerVision is based in Beijing, and it launched its first consumer drone — The PowerEgg — in 2016.
