Fluid wants to transform your iPad into a fish finder and more

Apple’s iOS is no stranger to weird apps. The company’s iPhones and iPads are highly portable and can be taken just about anywhere, enabling developers to dream up inventive new ways to use them. Now an IndieGoGo fundraising campaign hopes to turn your iPad into a fish finder by pairing the tablet with the Fluid, a marine sonar transducer.

Here’s how it works. You’ll need to install the Fluid onto a boat that has 12V-24V DC power supply. From there, you’ll power on the Fluid and connect to its Wi-Fi signal using your iPad. Running the Fluid app on your iPad will allow you to access several different tools inside the app, such as a fish finder and a GPS chartplotter that can track your location on a map without a need for cellular service.

If your boat has an on-board sound system, the Fluid offers an added perk. The device is able to output audio when connected to your iPad, meaning you can access your whole library of tunes and stream them wirelessly. This sounds like a great feature for those who are just hanging out and relaxing, as loud music isn’t typically recommended while trying to catch fish.

If there’s one major downside I can see with the Fluid, it’s the Wi-Fi connectivity. The folks behind the product say that Wi-Fi is used because it has better range than, say, Bluetooth. But connecting your iPad to the Wi-Fi hotspot built into the Fluid means you won’t be able to tether your iPad to another Internet-enabled device. And even if your iPad is of the cellular variety, being connected to a Wi-Fi network could introduce problems.

Does this sound like a product you’d want on your own boat? If so, the people behind the Fluid would probably want you to donate something as soon as possible. With 44 days left in the campaign, the Fluid is currently sitting at $0, well short of the $400,000 the creators were hoping to raise.