Who says drones are only to be flown in the sky?

From the makers of the OpenROV underwater robot, the Trident is “an underwater drone for everyone.” It’s ideal for avid drone users and newbies alike, ready for action right out of the box and protected by a sleek form factor.

“Getting video from underwater has always been a challenge because radio waves don’t travel through water,” says OpenROV co-founder Erick Stackpole. “So we’ve developed a very lightweight, neutrally buoyant tether, which communicates the video feed from the ROV up to the surface. That attaches to a wireless buoy, which allows you to control the ROV from any WiFi connected device.”

The Trident is “ultra-portable” and, as co-founder David Lang emphasizes, flat-out “fun to fly.” It can dive up to a depth of 100m and move at a speed of 2 m/s, all while lasting up to three hours at a time (much longer than most aerial drones). It’s also embedded with two LED light boards for nighttime shooting.

With more than 1,000 backers and nearly $700,000 raised on Kickstarter, the gadget is buzzing across the Internet.

"The future of drones isn’t in the skies. It’s in the ocean. It feels like an amusement park ride–except it’s real. You’re really driving around underwater, exploring,” Gizmodo raves.

"Suddenly, you don’t need to be a James Cameron or a Jacques Cousteau to explore beneath the waves," writes Zachary Slobig of TakePart.

“The future of ocean exploration is here,” says Entrepreneur.

Indeed, the Trident not only unlocks the human mind’s natural desire to explore the unknown depths, but also enables us to follow that instinct.

For those looking to buy the Trident for themselves, visit OpenROV’s Kickstarter page for a special $949 offer, with estimated delivery Nov. 2016.