GRAND RAPIDS, MI --- When the Fathom One comes out in mid-2017, customers likely won't have to worry about following any rules -- or even registering the drone.

That's because this drone doesn't fly. It swims.

The Federal Aviation Administration recently rolled out rules for airborne drones, but underwater drone are skimming under the radar of the federal government's watch. At least for now.

"Right now, it's the honor system that people aren't going to be stupid with the drone," said John Boss. "The biggest thing we want to focus on is marine safety."

There aren't any Coast Guard regulations regarding the use of underwater drones or larger remotely operated underwater vehicles unless they carry passengers or cargo, a U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman told MLive and The Grand Rapids Press.

Boss, along with Matt Gira and Danny Vessells, developed the underwater drone in their last two years at Hope College.

This month, they raised more than $200,000 toward that effort with a Kickstarter campaign in September. In just over a week, the fundraiser toppled its $150,000 goal, an indication of pent-up demand for what is being described as the first underwater drone targeted at general consumers.

Those who committed to the Kickstarter campaign early could buy the Fathom One at a $100 to $200 savings. But even at $600, it's less than half the price of what is available online.

The lower cost is a result of the modular design that can be easily customized with extra action cameras, sensors and lights. It comes with a high-definition camera and LED lights.

"The base unit is for an everyday person, while accessories can accommodate higher-end users," Vessells said.

The hull is made with ABS plastic over an aircraft grade aluminum skeleton, which allows it to handle extreme pressure. The drone can dive to a depth of 150 feet and move through the water at a speed of 1.5 meters per second.

Its rechargeable battery can power up for about an hour. Weighing in at 4.5 pounds, the drone is designed with three thrusters that can be removed for packing, or replaced with more powerful versions.

The drone, controlled by a smartphone app, is connected physically by a 100-foot tether to a buoy that transmits the wifi.

"It's very intuitive," said Vessells of the joystick-styled console. "This is like flying a plane on a video game."

The partners tested the drone in Hope College's pool before trying it out in the deeper waters of Lake Michigan, and the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Belize.

They say they wouldn't have been able to ready Fathom One so quickly for the market without the assistance of their Holland college's Center for Leadership, which provided free access to a 3-D software and printer, along with business expertise. It's the same program that helped another set of Hope students develop Ringcam.

The grads paid for the drone's research and development with $30,000 won in entrepreneurial pitch contests and funding from the Grand Rapids business incubator, Emerge Xcelerate. The Kickstarter-raised money will be used for the drone's production at Edgewater Automation in St. Joseph.

None of the money raised so far has gone to salaries. Instead, the trio are working part-time jobs to scrape together enough to pay for gas and rent.

"We have been so conditioned to bootstrap it," Boss said.

Over the summer, they left Holland for downtown Grand Rapids, signing a six-month lease with Grand Rapids Collaborative. The coLab workspace above the San Chez restaurant lets them rub shoulders with other budding tech entrepreneurs.

Gira, from Washington Township in Macomb County, graduated with a chemistry degree, and is in charge of the company's business development, operations and partnerships. He attended Yale's summer entrepreneurial program the summer before his senior year.

Raised in Charlevoix, Boss majored in bio-mechanical engineering and oversees product development. Vessells, of Bloomfield Hills, majored in chemical engineering, and handles the marketing side of the business.

The road to their startup began as brainstorming for a senior project between Vessells and Boss, who lived in the same house at college. The first idea, a floating chair, was a no-go after realizing the amount of magnets required could be dangerous.

Vessells came up with the idea of an underwater drone after remembering the stories he heard about horse-drawn carriages carrying logs falling through the ice on Lake Louise near his family's Northern Michigan cottage. Not a scuba diver, Vessells said he was thinking of an alternative way to explore the waters.

Some Google searches revealed there were few options on the market, with the exception of "super expensive" models geared to oceanographic researchers and survey companies, or kits requiring a high level of technical expertise to put together.

Before the Fathom One began generating news coverage locally and nationally, it made international headlines last year after a BBC reporter was tipped off about the prototype on social media.

The media attention doesn't just have divers and snorkelers clamoring for the Fathom One.

"My grandpa is dying to use it for ice fishing," Boss said.