Looks like the iBubble autonomous underwater camera drone has a good chance of being fully funded.
As of this writing, the team that developed the iBubble had raised $74,420 of its original $75,000 goal — on the first day of their Indigogo crowdfunding campaign.
(UPDATE: As of 8:30pm Eastern Time on Tuesday 19 April, the team had met their goal and was at $83,889.)
The iBubble team has a hefty list of high-profile “ambassadors” like Umberto Pelizzari, the Cousteau family, Andy Torbet (BBC and Discovery Presenter), François Sarano (co-author of the movie Oceans), “Her Deepness” Sylvia Earle, Carlos Coste, Laurent Ballesta and others.
Not only that, Freediver Guillaume Néry is currently testing the device’s second working prototype.
Among the concerns the team says it has received are:
“It’ll get lost in currents”
“Another object to pollute the oceans”
“Sharks are going to bite it”
“It’s never going to work”
In response, the team says:
“We’ve implemented solutions and have a precise plan to address the remaining issues over the next year.”
With a month left on the campaign, who knows how much money the team can eventually raise?
For more info, check out the iBubble website or the team’s Indigogo page.
