On March 25 (Beijing time), Germany’s Red Dot Design Award—known as the “Oscars of International Industrial Design”—officially announced the winners of the 2019 awards. The GLADIUS MINI, developed and manufactured by Shenzhen Chasing Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Chasing Innovation”), was honored with the Annual Red Dot Design Award. This recognition not only reflects its outstanding design philosophy and functional quality but also represents the new trend in the current and future development of underwater drones. The GLADIUS MINI shares this prestigious accolade with many global top-tier brands such as Lenovo, Yamaha, LG, Huawei, and Xiaomi.
Founded in 1955, the German Red Dot Design Award is the world’s top and most influential industrial design prize. Dubbed the “Oscars of International Industrial Design” for its extremely stringent selection criteria and high gold content, it is regarded alongside Germany’s iF Design Award and the U.S. IDEA Award as the “World’s Three Major Design Awards.” Each year, only a small number of outstanding works that achieve an exceptionally high level of design quality are awarded the Red Dot Design Award. A jury of renowned experts from around the world evaluates entries based on six dimensions: innovation, practicality, economy, environmental friendliness, craftsmanship, and aesthetics of product industrial design. The GLADIUS MINI stood out among nearly 10,000 participants and over 5,500 entries globally, passing rigorous evaluations across these dimensions to ultimately claim the award—a dual authoritative recognition of its aesthetic appeal and quality.
In fact, this marks the GLADIUS MINI’s second major international award following the top prize in the hardware category and the Jury’s Special Award at “Japan Drone 2019” in mid-March. What makes this underwater drone repeatedly favored by authoritative global industrial design experts? As the world’s first five-drive micro underwater photography drone priced under 10,000 RMB, the GLADIUS MINI retains the high-end specifications of its predecessor, the GLADIUS PRO—including a 4K ultra-high-definition camera and a maximum diving depth of 100 meters. It features a more compact design, weighing less than 2.5kg, and can be carried in a single backpack, greatly enhancing portability. Additionally, it introduces a vertical depth-keeping mode and a ±45° adjustable pitch angle panning mode, enabling high-quality imaging from multiple angles. Beyond its applications in B2B sectors such as aquaculture, hull and wharf inspections, reservoir dam inspections, and municipal pipeline inspections, the GLADIUS MINI also boasts rich use cases in personal consumer entertainment, including underwater photography, yacht fishing, and island tourism.
In the future, Chasing Innovation will continue to strive to break through technical barriers in underwater drones, bringing more “fun,” “exquisite,” and “professional” underwater photography equipment to drive innovation and upgrading in the underwater drone market.
