Barometric Membranes on fishing drones – what are they?

Fishing Drones and Water Resistant Membranes

Fishing drone models that are classed as water resistant, also generally have some sort of barometric membrane or fabric material installed onto the drone. This covers an entry point into the inside of the drone cavity. This water resistant membrane is designed to let air flow between the inside of the drone, and the outside – so that the air pressure both outside and inside the drone can be equalised at all times. This is especially important as the internal drone electronics heat up during a flight.

Many Fishing Drones have a Barometric Sensor

You might ask, why is this membrane even needed and wouldn’t it be better to have the drone internals sealed off from the sea and coastal elements?

The answer to this is because there is a sensor that is located inside the drone called the “Barometric Sensor”. This simply measures the air pressure around the sensor – and then reports this back to the Drone Flight Controller. Why this sensor is so important, is that at different altitudes the air pressure varies – the higher you go, the lower the air pressure (ie. you might have heard people say “the air gets thinner”). So the drone uses this air pressure change to understand what altitude the drones is at, and therefore also means that you can then let go of the controller joysticks – and the Drone still maintains that set altitude, making flying so much easier.

If this Barometric Sensor is not working properly then the drone will not be able to hold altitude by itself, something that is pretty important for a fishing drone to be able to do.

Different fishing drone models have this barometric membrane in different places, the Gannet has the sensor on the battery door at the rear of the drone, the Shark X has it on the main body, and the Splashdrone SD3+ and FD1 has it on the lid (see the image above)

Is the water resistant membrane waterproof?

So manufacturers often promote that their drone is waterproof, however at least one of the points of water entry is the water resistant membrane. Yes the membrane might resist water splashes, however it is not designed for water force or water submersion, particularly if the membrane is damaged in some way.

These membranes are made from a lightweight nano fabric to allow the air to get in and out, but due to their delicate nature, this also means that they can be damaged quite easily. It is advisable to replace this membrane every six months or so, because the membrane can easily get clogged up with sand and other material than can inhibit the membrane from working and therefore also one of the sensors that the drone uses to function and fly properly – the Barometric sensor.

If you want to learn more, here is a recent video (referring to the Swellpro models):