Drones may once have been a term associated with mindless machines and flying kill-bots, but now its fast becoming about fun. Quadcopters equipped with cameras are growing more and more popular.
A 4ft (122cm)-tall drone capable of carrying a human passenger was unveiled at the Las Vegas CES tradeshow Wednesday. The Chinese EHang 184 is capable of carrying a passenger for 23 minutes at a speed of up to 60 mph (96 kph).
EHang claims the drone is “the safest, eco-est and smartest low altitude autonomous aerial vehicle” for short to medium distance travel. The drone will not allow users to fly manually; an automated destination input/delivery system is designed to eradicate human error. EHang CEO Huazhi Hu lost his best friend and helicopter coach in a flight accident in 2011 and sought to create a safer way to fly locally.
From the likes of DJI to Parrot, every drone manufacturer is pushing forward fast with up to 4K cameras, intelligent flight systems and even fun aerial manoeuvre tricks.
CES 2016 is home to plenty of new and improved drones that will be fighting for airspace this year. Here are the best to appear at the show so far.
Ehang 184
This drone is able to carry a single passenger and features no controls. The passenger simply inputs a destination on the tablet controls and hits “Take off”. The Ehang 184 can hit 63mph, fly up to 11,500 feet and travel 23 minutes at a time carrying up to 100kg. Aviation laws still need to catch up with this stunning tech. But when they do the price is predicted to be between $200,000 and $300,000. It can even land with only one working arm. Find out more about safety measures and comfort at the link here.
Lily Camera drone
This is a drone but it’s sold as a camera. This is like having a GoPro cameraman working for you wherever you go. Yup, this drone tracks you and films as you move about. The Lily Camera has won a CES 2016 Innovation Award already for being uniquely helpful. Simply throw the bag-friendly sized 1.3kg drone into the air and it’ll take flight recording you in 1080p60. It’s even waterproof so can be thrown into water to take off from there.
Using the wrist worn controller you can set it to follow, lead, circle, go up and more, so you get the best shots all while it does the work of following you. Not bad for $800, grab one ready for shipping in February.
Parrot Disco
This new drone from Parrot is unlike the usual quadcopters we expect to see from the manufacturer. It’s also unlike what you’d usually class as a drone. Really it’s more of a plane. The Disco is a winged vehicle featuring a rear propeller than get can it up to speeds of 50mph. It not only beats drones for speed but for airtime too with a battery performance of 45 minutes. Thanks to a host of sensors the auto pilot does most of the tough stuff. All you need to do it throw it and the drone will start flying. It is controlled using the Parrot Skycontroller so should have enough range to take advantage of that 50mph top speed without getting lost. Although with a front facing camera you’ll still be in control even when you lose sight of the Disco.
The Parrot Disco will be available in 2016. An exact date and price have not been announced.
DJI Phantom 3 4K
DJI, the Chinese drone manufacturer, has announced its first ever drone to feature a 4K camera for under $1,000. On how this works DJI says that instead of using the company’s Lightbridge video-transmission system, the Phantom 3 4K uses built-in Wi-Fi to transmit the video downlink and on-screen data. This will work at a distance of up to 1.2km. And it should stay in the air for 25 minutes on a charge. The DJI Phantom 3 4K will be €900 when released in 2016.
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