News By Ryan Whitwam Jan. 12, 2014 12:05 pm
Most consumer drone aircraft have minimal payload weights, but the Pocket Drone from AirDroid is designed to haul around a GoPro camera. The Pocket Drone can follow you around with the camera on autopilot by tracking your smartphone, which means you can take professional-looking aerial footage of your exploits all by yourself.
The Pocket Drone is a tri-rotor aircraft that can be collapsed and stored in a small pouch, then deployed again in about 20 seconds. It weighs about one pound and can carry half a pound for 20 minutes of flight time (there is a camera mount on the bottom of the Pocket Drone). The auto tracking scheme is the thing that sets this particular drone apart, but it can also be controlled in the traditional way. So, you can have a person flying the drone around to film things a more intelligently than the drone might be able to on its own.
Using a drone to film sports could get a little dangerous for the drone, especially if it’s on autopilot. That’s why the Pocket Drone is designed to be sturdy and easily repairable — even the propellers will break away if there is a collision. You should be able to reassemble the drone and save yourself from some very expensive repairs. Just make sure you don’t attach a regular (breakable) camera — there’s a reason the GoPro exists.
AirDroid is currently running a Kickstarter for the Pocket Drone, and it has already far surpassed its funding goal. The company was only looking for $35,000 and is at nearly $100,000 with about two months to go. The full package with a ready-to-fly drone and controller is going for $495, which is a reasonable price for a drone with this much carrying capacity. If you want in, the Pocket Drone will ship around June.
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The Pocket Drone is a tri-rotor aircraft that can be collapsed and stored in a small pouch, then deployed again in about 20 seconds. It weighs about one pound and can carry half a pound for 20 minutes of flight time (there is a camera mount on the bottom of the Pocket Drone). The auto tracking scheme is the thing that sets this particular drone apart, but it can also be controlled in the traditional way. So, you can have a person flying the drone around to film things a more intelligently than the drone might be able to on its own.
Using a drone to film sports could get a little dangerous for the drone, especially if it’s on autopilot. That’s why the Pocket Drone is designed to be sturdy and easily repairable — even the propellers will break away if there is a collision. You should be able to reassemble the drone and save yourself from some very expensive repairs. Just make sure you don’t attach a regular (breakable) camera — there’s a reason the GoPro exists.
AirDroid is currently running a Kickstarter for the Pocket Drone, and it has already far surpassed its funding goal. The company was only looking for $35,000 and is at nearly $100,000 with about two months to go. The full package with a ready-to-fly drone and controller is going for $495, which is a reasonable price for a drone with this much carrying capacity. If you want in, the Pocket Drone will ship around June.
More...
