On March 15, 2019 Pacific Time, the closing day of Japan Drone 2019 (Japan's largest drone exhibition), the new-generation underwater photography drone GLADIUS MINI independently developed by Shenzhen Chasing Innovation won the Highest Award in the Hardware Category and the Special Jury Award after multiple rounds of competition, emerging as the biggest dark horse.
According to the official website of Japan Drone 2019, since its first held in 2016, the Japan Drone Conference has expanded in scale with the steady growth of the drone industry. This year, it attracted 200 exhibitors and 15,000 visitors from China, the United States, Japan, Israel, France, Australia and other countries and regions. As a major event in Japan's drone field, the conference has received continuous attention from overseas countries and drone enthusiasts worldwide.
At the previous exhibition, aerial drones ushered in a new wave of achievements. DJI, the renowned domestic drone brand that has attracted global attention, won the highest award in the drone category with its product "MATRICE 200 Series", marking another milestone breakthrough for domestic aerial drones.
Notably, at this year's exhibition, DJI's product MAVIC 2 ENTERPRISE made a stunning appearance, but the spotlight on domestic brands surprisingly fell elsewhere – the world's first five-drive micro underwater photography drone GLADIUS MINI, developed by Shenzhen Chasing Innovation, topped the competition and won two highest honors: the Highest Award in the Hardware Category and the Special Jury Award of this exhibition. Following DJI, this is a remarkable achievement for domestic drones in the world-class drone field!
Murayama, a senior Japanese media contributor stationed at the exhibition, was impressed by the outstanding performance of GLADIUS MINI on site and is very optimistic about the prospect of underwater drones. In his article, he wrote: "The underwater drone market is expected to reach 580 billion yen (approximately 34 billion RMB) by 2022, and CHASING INNOVATION, the developer of GLADIUS MINI, is based in Shenzhen, China – the holy land of drones, which means it has immeasurable potential." What strengths make it a dark horse at the exhibition? As the world's first five-drive micro underwater photography drone "Made in China", GLADIUS MINI is equipped with a 4K ultra-high-definition camera and can dive to a maximum depth of 100 meters. More impressively, it has a vertical depth-keeping mode and a ±45° adjustable pitch angle translation shooting mode, enabling high-quality images to be taken from multiple angles. The entire body weighs less than 2.5kg and can be carried in a single shoulder bag, such high portability directly adds more extensive playability to the product.
Its application scenarios can be described as "all-pervasive" – from industrial-level reservoir, fishing boat, scientific research and search and rescue to small-scale diving, sea fishing, yacht and tourism, it has strong maneuverability and playability. Precisely for this reason, the exhibition also awarded GLADIUS MINI the only "Special Jury Award", which symbolizes recognition by professionals and popularity among the public. When it comes to the phenomenon-level brand in the underwater drone field in the future, Chasing Innovation, the brand behind GLADIUS MINI, has long been ready on the road of passion and dedication to underwater technology.
