Scientists like to say that 70% of the oceans are unexplored. At a time when we can text anyone in the world, order anything online, and have Chipotle delivered; we still have no clue what's below the waves. What are we missing that is only a few feet below the surface?
Danny Vessells had the same question two years ago. He was a student at Hope College in Holland, Michigan gazing out at Lake Michigan. What followed was a grueling engineering project, how do you make an underwater drone that is compact and functional?
What Danny and his team came up with is the Fathom One. The world's first modular underwater drone. It is so small that it can fit on half a piece of paper but can dive up to 150 feet. The fact that it is modular means that they can built cool accessories that can easily be installed and stored.
The Fathom One was recently listed on Kickstarter with an ambitious goal of $150,000. With just 7 days to go, they have raised over $185,000. "It's nerve wracking hitting that start campaign button... but we were confident" Danny remarked during our interview. They plan on continuing to innovate and adding additional functionality to their modular design.
