Fathom One | The Affordable, Modular, HD Underwater Drone

Update #2
over 7 years ago – Thu, Nov 17, 2016 at 06:13:59 PM

Hey Fathom community! It's been a whirlwind of a November so far, and we have a lot to share; a lot of our work has been put into taking backer feedback and pumping it directly into the F1's design. That's why we love this community -  you've already begun shaping what our flagship product is going to be. First things first, let's talk about some important drone development updates!

Drone Hull Updates - As we mentioned our last update, we're constantly iterating the drone's hull design to make it even easier to assemble, as well as making it more robust. One of the primary ways we're doing this is through a new hull design in which the drone's hull is now comprised of one primary plastic part, which will not only make it much easier to manufacture, but also increases robustness. Check out some pictures of the new and improved Fathom One!

More aesthetic updates will come in following weeks!

The Raspberry Pi and Pi Camera - This is huge. After countless conversations with backers, as well as hours and hours put into making this drone more accessible than ever, we've officially decided to integrate the open-source Raspberry Pi 3 computer as the brains of the F1, as well as a Raspberry Pi Camera V2 Module as the primary embedded camera. This is a fully capable, 8 megapixel, 1080p, 30 fps module that can deliver some pretty impressive results at its price point. If you want more information on the module's sensor, feel free to check out the specs here.

There are a few reasons this is really exciting for our community: The first being, you now have full control to modify your F1's embedded software, however you see fit. This means (if you have the technical know-how) you can implement a bunch of awesome software upgrades! Also, it allows us to easily release updates to improve your drone as we develop new and improved software-based features. Another great thing about combining the power of the Pi Camera with the Raspberry Pi CPU, is now you have full control over camera settings (white balance, saturation, contrast, brightness, etc.) to capture the perfect shot, no matter the situation.

Speaking of capturing the perfect shot, this new hardware implementation will also allow you to save video directly on the drone. You'll no longer have to worry about any signal interruptions ruining your video, or depending solely on your smart device's memory to capture your entire dive. Here's some sample video from the drone's onboard camera at stock settings. Please forgive the bumpy ride, but enjoy the quick tour of our building! Be sure to select the HD setting in the bottom right!

The last thing that's important to note about this setup is that we'll likely be customizing the camera module to increase your field of view, allowing for a more immersive piloting experience.

Pilot and Observer Video Streams - A huge focus for the past two weeks has been nailing down our networking protocols for implementing both "pilot" and "observer" video stream options. We finally nailed it down and developed a system that allows the pilot to have a smooth, minimal latency stream while observers can tune in (if they have your buoy password) and see what the pilot is seeing in real-time. Here's a brief test of both a pilot and observer watching the same drone feed (device on the left is an Android smartphone, while the device on the right is an iPhone):

UI Development - We've made a ton of progress on our user interface. We've implemented on-screen joystick control, full instrumentation readouts, as well as the aforementioned pilot and observer video streams. Logging into your drone is incredibly simple. Just select the buoy's WiFi signal from your settings, enter the buoy's password, and launch the Fathom app. From there, you can choose to be a pilot (there can only be one per drone) or an observer that tags along for the dive. We're also working on a "dive log" feature, in which you can save information from your dives to share with the rest of the Fathom community. Here's what to expect from the user interface (aesthetic updates coming soon):

Here's a look into the drone's brain as you use the on-screen joysticks:

Drone Thrust Module Updates - A primary focus since the beginning of the F1 project has been its modular thruster attachment system that allows you to customize, upgrade, or repair your drone's thrusters with unparalleled ease. We're excited to announce that we've revamped each thrust module design so it's easier than ever customize your drone to your liking. 

There are a few things to notice about this new design: First and foremost, each thrust module is only two pieces - the motor housing and prop. Minimal hardware is needed for installing each motor, and the physical footprint of each thruster has been decreased. Another major change in the design of these modules is the way they interface with the hull of the drone. Instead of plugging into the hull, now they screw into it. This allows us to use thruster mounting screws as both a mechanical fastener and electrical contact. This also means they don't have to be sealed, which greatly decreases costs. Check it out:

 Battery Capacitance - Backers have spoken, and we've responded! Many of you wanted increased dive times out of the box, so we've doubled the battery capacitance of the Fathom One. This is a result of the new hull design that allows us to pack in another 2200 mAh lithium polymer battery. Through the various design updates that decrease assembly and part costs, we can afford this without adjusting the price of the unit.

Tether - We thought you may want to see just how thin our new tether is! Check out the comparison between the new and old tether:

As always, there's a ton going on outside of just product development. Most notably, we opened a survey in early November to begin collecting beta user applications thinking we'd only receive around twenty of them. By the time we closed the application, we ended up with close to eighty applications. This was incredibly exciting for us to see such a high number of awesome applications. We've had to complete the incredibly difficult job of narrowing it down to our top applications, and have already begun phone interviews to further vet our applicants. Again, another reason we're so thankful for our Fathom/Kickstarter community.

T-shirts are shipping, so get excited to represent your favorite underwater drone company! We've finally gotten our t-shirts back from the printer, and are shipping them out to you! We're really happy with how they've turned out, and we think you will be too.

Most of you should have received tracking numbers for your shirts by now. We did start with domestic shipments, so if you are an international backer, don't worry, your tracking number will come soon. 

As a side note, if you have not filled out a survey yet on Backerkit, we have no way of knowing your address, and we can't ship a shirt without an address! You should be able to log in to complete the survey here.

Developing a consumer hardware product is hard. There's no getting around it. That's why we introduced the "Biggest Challenges" section of our updates, to give you an inside look at the struggles we encounter, and how we overcome them to get one step closer to making the Fathom One a reality. 

The Problem - It was a challenge to decide how we should go about achieving multiple video streams, to multiple devices, at varying resolutions and frame rates simultaneously while giving the pilot the option to record video to the drone's onboard memory. Heck, just saying it makes us feel dizzy. We tried various approaches, all with sub-par results that we weren't happy with.

The Solution - After countless tests and failures, we finally broke through to a solution we really liked! Without going into too much technical jargon, we designed one streaming protocol that's been optimized for low-latency, smooth video streaming to the pilot with data feedback, while implementing another for "observers" that simply allows interested individuals to tune into the drone's video feed if they have your buoy's WiFi password. What this means is that the Fathom experience can be totally communal - just because you may have purchased one drone, doesn't mean more than one person can't enjoy it!

The Problem - We had to come up with a better solution for attaching the drone's thrust modules while minimizing connectivity issues. Something we found was that many plugs we experimented with had some sort of spring mechanism that would wear out after extensive use, and we still had to use a separate mechanism (clips, screws, etc) to hold the thrusters in place.

The Solution - Make the mechanical connection points dual purpose! By redesigning the thrust modules so that their mechanical connection to the drone is also their electrical interface, we solved the issues we were experiencing. This means each thruster will be mounted securely while ensuring depth and water salinity don't affect thruster connectivity. Thruster security + reliability = one happy Fathom team.

That's it for now! But as always, feel free to comment, shoot us as email at [email protected], or post to our forum!

We can't say it enough - having all of you behind us in this venture has made all the difference. As our business partners and community members, you motivate and push us to make the Fathom One the best it can be. There's a lot happening in coming weeks, so be sure to stay tuned.

Let's get out there and explore.

John, Matt, Danny, and Chris

Beta Tester Survey
over 7 years ago – Tue, Nov 01, 2016 at 05:24:32 PM

Hey again everyone! We wanted to send a dedicated update for the beta tester survey so it didn't get lost in all the information we have coming your way in the next update (and we do have a lot to share!).

Since the end of our campaign, we’ve been incredibly excited to start beta testing, as have many of you. And now that time is finally here! All this excitement is justified; beta is the first time the Fathom One will be extensively tested by people who are not us. Tested, "in-depth", so to speak.

Here’s how it will work: Any of you can apply to be beta testers by following this link to our preliminary survey. We will be selecting testers based on many factors including time commitment, background, and planned use-case for the drone. For example, a retired submarine designer who wants to use the drone to document shipwrecks would probably get picked over someone who can only commit to driving the drone a couple times in their pool. We will be interviewing promising applicants and then making a final selection of 10-20 backers that we feel are best equipped to push the F1 to its limits and give us the feedback needed to improve it. Selected applicants will be asked to create a profile on Centercode, a beta platform that we will be using to conduct a streamlined and effective test. We'll then ship drones to all our testers, and it’s sink or swim time (in a very literal sense).

The test itself will run January 2017 - February 2017, primarily so that it doesn’t overlap with various upcoming holidays. During that time, testers are expected to be regularly piloting their F1 and providing feedback, which will be in the form of surveys, bug reports, and interaction with other testers via Centercode forums. This process is incredibly important, as it will directly influence the product in a very tangible way. Beta tester applications will close on November 8th at 12:00pm. If you feel you need additional time to fill out the survey or have any questions about beta testing in general, you can contact Chris (Fathom's beta manager) at [email protected].

Survey link: https://goo.gl/forms/gqH2C6SNYG5yoDp92

Good luck!

- John, Matt, Chris, and Danny

Update #1
over 7 years ago – Thu, Oct 13, 2016 at 03:37:00 PM

Hey everyone! Development is officially kicked off in full force, and we have a lot to report! A few housekeeping items to get out of the way first:

We'll be sending out a survey in the next two weeks to collect shipping information and t-shirt selection information (size, style, etc.). We should be receiving Kickstarter funds this week, so we'll be able to give our t-shirt printer the go ahead once we collect everyone's information! 

We have a new Fathom team member! We're so excited to introduce Chris Seto! 

Chris will be managing the Fathom One beta program.  He'll be crucial in collecting and managing beta user feedback so we can truly optimize the user experience. If you have any questions regarding the coming beta program, he's your guy. He can be reached at [email protected] if you have any questions. Speaking of the beta program...

We're currently wrapping up the drafting of our beta tester application. We're running it by a few industry experts to ensure we can select the best possible applicants to not only provide us with fantastic content, but also to help us debug and prepare the F1 for mass production. We'll be selecting a limited number of beta testers from our backer pool, so expect a competitive application. 

Now on to development updates!

Camera - We've been completing extensive testing with various camera modules. We'll be making a final decision on which sensor we'll be moving forward with by the end of October. Our primary criteria for this selection (without getting into the "nitty-gritty") will be great color rendering in underwater environments, low-light sensitivity, and wide field of view (for lens selection). Sample footage coming soon!

Buoy - A lot of effort has been put into development of our buoy after conversations with backers via our forum, and directly. We've decided to integrate a tether management system into the buoy, making it incredibly easy to not only deploy your F1, but also make it easy to pack all that tether. Many existing consumer underwater ROV companies seem to ignore tether management for some reason, or make you come up with your own solution. We want to provide a solution for every aspect of using your underwater drone, so you don't have to waste any time doing it yourself.

Tether - We've begun experimenting with an ultra-thin tether (3 mm in diameter) to enable easier management and minimization of the tether's associated drag effect! It also features a Kevlar reinforcing member to ensure - no matter how hard you tug on it - it won't break.

Drone Hull Design - Big update here! We've been working closely with Edgewater Development to simplify the F1's hull design. What we've come up with is a new design that would enable us to use a single mold for the shell, decreasing manufacturing costs while increasing robustness. We're bringing on a dedicated mold designer specifically for this on the 24th. Pictures of the updated design to come in the next update!

Internal Drone Hardware - We're currently proving out our updated internal hardware. Compared to our alpha prototypes, our betas will have enhanced processing power to better handle streaming HD video to your smart device, giving you a beautifully crisp image. We're also going through the sensor selection process (depth, heading, etc.), and interfacing them with our primary hardware.

Mobile Application - We've been making a lot of progress on our app. The primary points of focus have been handling the HD stream, and making sure latency is kept to an absolute minimum (our current approach introduces latency of approximately 185ms). We've also been working hard on integrating VR capabilities, and honing the user interface. This includes the integration of physical controllers to allow for an enhanced piloting experience! So far so good!

Aside from product development, we've had a few interesting conversations over the past week that we wanted to share with you:

We've begun working with faculty at Western Michigan University to explore the use of the F1 for truly unique uses cases, like photogrammetry (using cameras to produce 3D models of underwater structures). You can check out some of their work here: https://sketchfab.com/models/5534989c9f0b4d609413eef41723d2ff

We've also begun exploring the use of the F1 in educational programs with the director of the USS Silversides Museum in Muskegon, Michigan, who intends to use a "fleet" of F1's for a brand new ROV program they recently opened. Because the drone is easy to use, customizable, and affordable, it fits the bill perfectly for the program. You can check out their program here: https://silversidesmuseum.org. 

 

If you want to learn more about using the Fathom One for an educational program, feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected]!

This is a section of our updates we want to introduce because, quite frankly, no development process is perfect. Sharing our struggles with you is an essential part of why we decided to use Kickstarter in the first place. Who knows, something that we don't know how to solve might be old hat for someone in our backer community. We also wanted to ensure the highest level of transparency; any Kickstarter project that says that everything is perfect all the time is a Kickstarter campaign we don't trust. So here goes:

The Problem - About two weeks ago we were having a tough time with resolving a "stuck frame" issue that was associated with our video streaming protocol. The stream was coming through nice and clear, but it had a habit of freezing up on us. Latency was also an issue - the stream itself was great, but had a latency of about 2 seconds. Clearly both these issues were unacceptable.

The Solution - Without going into too much detail (for the sake of keeping this update concise), we reworked our video streaming protocol, upgraded the drone's onboard processing power, and gave it another shot. Thankfully, this took care of the issue! We now have a nice clear stream without any annoying "stuck frames" or insane amounts of latency.

The Problem - Tether management. For our Kickstarter campaign, we just "lived with" not having a great solution for tether management (one of us would pilot the drone while the other spooled out tether). Another issue that we knew we needed to solve in a final product. 

The Solution - Integrate a tether management system into the buoy! As you may have seen above, we're taking two approaches to solving the tether management issue: the first being housing the tether inside of the buoy. The second approach is housing the tether outside of the buoy on a small spool component below the electronics housing. Both present pros and cons, so we'll be doing some head-to-head testing in coming weeks to decide which is best!

That's it for obstacles in the first few weeks of working! Thankfully our team has been fantastic in tackling any issues that arise in a timely manner. 

Phew! That was a lot to get out in one update! Needless to say, we've been getting a lot done, and it's only October! Also, if you haven't checked it out already, community members have been generating some awesome ideas on Fathom's forum. If you want to check them out or add your own, check out the forum here: http://fathomdrone.com/forum. 

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to shoot us a message!

John, Matt, and Danny

Thank You!
over 7 years ago – Fri, Sep 30, 2016 at 12:44:56 AM

There are no words to express how thankful we are to the Kickstarter community for helping bring the Fathom One to life. You've given us the funds and support to allow us to hit the ground running. Here's what happens now:

Continued Domestic Preorders - We're continuing to take preorders for the Fathom One on our own site for customers in the United States! International customers can still purchase a Fathom t-shirt if they wish.
Here's a link to our site!

The Fathom Forum - We've set up a simple forum on our site as well to allow our community to brainstorm attachments, use cases, and dive location ideas! We're so excited to see what we can come up with as a community to extend the uses for the Fathom One.
Here's a link to our forum!

Continued Updates - We'll be sending Kickstarter updates on a monthly basis from here on out, increasing in frequency as we near our fulfillment date. More frequent updates will be sent via social media and our newsletter in order to keep you all informed. We've said it before, and we'll say it again: Transparency in this development and fulfillment process is the top priority for our team.

Post-Kickstarter Survey - We'll be sending out a survey soon (in the next couple weeks) to collect shipping information, t-shirt selection, beta testing applications, and other housekeeping items. Keep an eye out!

With that, we'd like to say thank you again! We're so excited to have you with us as we bring underwater exploration and education to everyone. We have a lot of things in store to share with you - it's going to be an exciting ten months. 

John, Matt, and Danny

VAT Tax for International Backers
over 7 years ago – Wed, Sep 28, 2016 at 02:32:26 PM

This is a reminder to all of our international backers that while we can mitigate shipping costs, the unit price of a Fathom One does not include associated VAT taxes.

In order to ensure everyone is well informed as we enter the last hours of our campaign, we wanted to post a public reminder to ensure everyone is taking these costs into consideration. Because of the unique nature of Kickstarter as a funding platform, these taxes were not factored into the sale price of each unit.

For more information on VAT taxes as they apply to your specific area, please visit: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/business/vat/what-is-vat_en

For a VAT price estimator, you can visit: http://www.taxcentral.co.uk/tax-calculators/vat-calculator/

While shipping costs can be negotiated by Fathom, VAT taxes can not be changed. We apologize if this causes any inconvenience for our international backers. If you have any questions in regards to this topic, feel free to message us on our campaign page or email us at [email protected].

Thanks!

John, Matt, and Danny