bmazin

the domes look interesting.  are they hdv quality ? if so, where'd you get them ?

I'm planning to stick a sony HD handcam behind them.  They are from Video Rays, and they are not optically perfect, but we'll do some tests and see how good they are.  

I think for a pro setup it would be better to put lights behind the domes and mount a true housing between them.

50 lbs of thrust
20 lbs dry weight
14.8V 32 Ah battery pack - 1.5x the stored energy in a NiMH X-scooter battery pack
42 minute burn time at 75% throttle
Optional dual 21W HID fixed focus lamps
Dual independent throttle control (Tank Drive)
Separates in minutes into 2 Armjet microscooters http://jetboots.com/...les/Page432.htm



I took it out on Sunday for its maiden ocean dives.  It performed really well.  Easing off one of the throttles allows for very sharp turns, but it makes really nice sweeping turns at full throttle as well.  We've got some minor issues to work out - we're going to improve the throttle mechanism and replace the fixed arm ring with something more adjustable before we go into production.  One of the major uses I see for this platform is video.  With two wide angle HIDs in the Armjets and a camera mounted in the center should be very stable and fast.

I can't address the effect from the JetBoots motors, but I can pass on (after roughly 50 dives with the X-View nose) that there is no effect on the video when using the X-Scooter. Video shot while at rest is indistinguishable from that when the motor is running, except that things fly by at high speed!

Knowing the high quality of the JetBoots, I too am interested in giving an armjet a try.

All the best, James

Don't most modern cameras have some sort of anti-shake feature built in that would take damp out the vibrations?  This could be an issue, but I guess we'll find out when we try it!

Looks like a nice toy.
I'll probably wont buy it couse if I'll have 2500$ spear I'll probably use it on new photographic toys (and sure kicked out from home also )

I'm working on making a photo/video version of this.

Picture this - 2 armjets with 21W HID equivalents in the domes (probably LEDs) attached together by 2 ~2' poles.  Below these two poles in the middle you hang an HD camera housing.  Each Armjet has independent throttle control, so you can drive it like a tank - extremely fast left/right turns.  It should be as fast or faster than a gavin/ss/X-scooter but weighs only 20 lbs without the camera.  You could mount a remote LCD in a convenient place so you can frame your shot while using both hands to control the rig.

Just guessing, but I doubt there are many 4-5 knot motorized camera platforms with built in lights for ~$6k.  Any video pros/documentry film makers out there think this could be useful?

Here is a (terrible) sketch of what I'm thinking.  More to come as this gets closer to reality.