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Drones that Follow You (2015-01-24)
Before we get to new technology 2015, you all remember the Zano mini-drone from last year. The drone used virtual tethering with a mobile device to follow the user automatically. The drone was also able to shoot videos and take pictures via a 5-megapixel camera, and was built small enough to fit in a backpack. Torquing Group were the creators behind the mini drone, which was fully funded on Kickstarter. The Zano mini-drone was also designed to maintain a set altitude and avoid obstacles while following the owner on the ground. While the Zano mini-drone is all set for launch by June of 2015 there are others who are also jumping on the following drone bandwagon.
Most recently, Skydio has emerged on the scene to make drones more fun by making them follow you around and be controlled by a smartphone app. The young startup has been formed by some ex MIT and Google engineers who are hoping to alter the way drones are controlled and used by putting the controls in the user’s own smartphone, or in this case, an iPhone.
While the new age drones that are being built use cameras to shoot high definition videos and take pictures from the air, as mentioned earlier, the drone that has been designed by Skydio uses the same technology but in a different and much more exciting way.
What Skydio’s drone does is it uses the video feed to construct a 3D map of its surrounding area, which is then fed into the flight controller, or the iPhone. In this way the Skydio drone is able to maneuver through the air while avoiding any moving obstacles such as, birds, planes and so on. The team recently demonstrated their new drone technology in a demo, which showcased their new auto pilot system, which they have named “the magic wand.” This technology enables the user to operate the drone by simply pointing their iPhone in the direction where they want the drone to go. The Skydio drone, in this way eliminates the need for having to use a clunky joystick which is the current way of flying drones.
The team of engineers took things a step further by flying their drone at through an underground parking lot and even through a jam packed office to display the radio controlled vehicle’s amazingly accurate maneuverability.
While there are drones which have been designed to follow the user around like the Zano mini drone mentioned earlier that uses a ‘follow me’ feature that is built in to the device, the Skydio drone user 3D mapping technology, which is considered as more advanced and enables the drone to function far better than the others.
In terms of usability of this new technology 2015, the Skydio drone is aimed more at the extreme sport market, than the consumer market and rightly so. Extreme sports such as skiing and mountain biking require video footage from multiple viewing angles, which is something that the self flying drone is able to accomplish very well. Amongst others, another startup by the name of Myithz has also constructed their own version of the following drone and is scheduled to roll their product out later this year.
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