The U.S. Army has requested Fiscal Year 2026 funding for small uncrewed aircraft systems (sUAS, commonly referred to as drones). These systems support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR); target acquisition and strike; electronic warfare operations; and other missions. Congress has expressed an interest in the U.S. military’s UAS capabilities and in the Department of Defense’s […]

Underwater drones once looked like the next frontier in consumer tech. Back in the late 2010s, companies like PowerVision and Chasing Innovation promised that regular people would soon be livestreaming sea turtles, shipwrecks, and coral reefs with the same ease as flying a DJI Phantom. They raised millions through crowdfunding campaigns, built sleek prototypes, and hyped the idea of the “GoPro of the sea.”

And then? For the most part, the market sank.

While consumer aerial drones soared into mainstream use, underwater drones hit challenges with physics, practicality, and pricing. Wi-Fi doesn’t transmit well through water, meaning most of those “untethered” drones still needed buoys or cables. Battery life was limited. Prices hovered in the $1,000–$2,000 range.

Many crowdfunded campaigns to sell them never delivered on the promised experience — or fizzled entirely. That’s why I don’t usually cover crowdfunding campaigns here on TheDroneGirl. Too often, they’re aspirational prototypes that never materialize — or, if they do, the final product doesn’t live up to the slick pitch videos.

But this week’s news gave me pause. Because this time, a big name in drones is testing the waters with a sort of underwater drone that’s better than one I’ve ever seen before.

Enter Zero Zero Robotics: from skies to seas

Zero Zero Robotics — the company best known for the HOVERAir series, which I’d argue is one of the closest consumer competitors to DJI — just announced its own aquatic play: the HOVERAir AQUA. Unlike the typical underwater ROV, AQUA isn’t a tethered submarine. Instead, it’s pitched as the world’s first 100% waterproof self-flying camera. Think: a palm-sized aerial drone that doesn’t panic if it takes a dunk. It’s designed to follow you hands-free over water while you paddleboard, jetski, snorkel, or fish—automatically tracking you and capturing cinematic third-person shots.

The specs are impressive on paper, including:

• 4K/100 fps slow-motion camera
• 1/1.28” CMOS sensor and hydrophobic lens
• 23 minutes of flight time
• Lightweight (under 249 grams, so no FAA registration required)
• Level 7 wind resistance (up to 33 knots)
• Tracking speeds up to 34 mph
• More than 15 automated flight modes, including “snorkel mode” and “gimbal mode.”

There’s even an accessory called the Lighthouse, worn on your arm, that acts like a controller with a built-in “virtual tether.” Plus, it has a tiny integrated AMOLED screen for live preview and playback without needing a phone.

Now here’s the kicker: it launches August 21, 2025 on crowdfunding site Indiegogo with an early bird price of $999.

The crowdfunding surprise: Zero Zero turns to Indiegogo

This is where things get interesting. Zero Zero Robotics is not some two-person startup chasing a dream.

Founded in 2014 by Stanford PhDs MQ Wang and Tony Zhang, the company has more than 170 patents and backing from major VCs like IDG and ZhenFund. They already make one of the most recognizable consumer drone alternatives to DJI. That’s the HOVERAir X1 line, which has evolved into a family of drones including the HoverAir X1 PRO and HOVERAir X1 PROMAX.

So why turn to Indiegogo? Indiegogo tends to be where scrappy newcomers go when they can’t secure traditional funding — or where brands test interest before scaling.

But HOVERAir has used Indiegogo before, including with its HOVERAir X1 Pro launch. With that,  Zero Zero Robotics served as an inaugural partner in Indiegogo’s Shipping Guarantee program. With that, Indiegoog says that — if the shipper doesn’t send their product as promised within a specific time frame — backers (aka those who pre-ordered) are eligible for a full refund.

Still, I question if a big-name company with an existing distribution network shouldn’t need crowdfunding to bring a product to market. That makes me curious whether Zero Zero is using AQUA as more of a concept validation exercise than a guaranteed mass-market launch.

Either way, it’s notable that one of DJI’s closest consumer competitors feels the need to fund its new flagship through this route. It says something about how tough the drone hardware market has become — and perhaps, how cautious even established companies have to be when entering niche categories like waterproof flying cameras.

So… what happened to underwater drones?

In many ways, Zero Zero’s AQUA is less an “underwater drone” than it is a waterproof drone. It doesn’t plunge into the deep to map shipwrecks like earlier ROVs — it floats, flies, and survives splashes while tracking you from the surface. That’s a key difference. The shift shows how the industry has learned from earlier missteps. Instead of promising deep-sea exploration in a consumer-friendly package (which physics makes tricky), AQUA aims to solve a simpler, more relatable problem: getting hands-free drone footage when you’re near or on the water. For content creators, paddleboarders or families at the lake, that might be the sweet spot underwater drones missed.

Underwater drones and the future

With underwater drones, most sank under the weight of their promises. But Zero Zero Robotics’ AQUA represents a clever pivot: don’t dive deep — float where the fun is.

Will AQUA succeed? That depends on whether consumers are willing to shell out $999 for what’s essentially a waterproof flying selfie cam. And given the Indiegogo route, there’s still the usual caveat: no matter how big the brand, crowdfunding always comes with risk. But if any company can pull it off, it might just be Zero Zero.

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