The drone’s mesh chassis makes it safe to grab whilst in flight. Photo credit: Zero Zero Robotics.
Remember that secretive Chinese startup that came out of hiding in April to show off the indoor Hover Camera drone that it had been working on for two years? Now the team has started production, with sales opening today and deliveries beginning immediately.
The self-flying, selfie-taking, face-tracking drone, with its rotors safely tucked inside a carbon fiber mesh bodywork, costs US$599 – but it’s available for US$549 for the first 14 days of sales.
Meng Qiu Wang, the creator of the Hover Camera and the founder of Beijing-based Zero Zero Robotics, tells me that he took the drone, which is about the size of an open book, to a BBQ party over the recent Chinese national day holidays and launched it into the air to take photos. Whereas people would have stepped back and been “scared” of a regular drone, he says, people gathered closer to the Hover Camera as it buzzed in place.
“We’ve been testing it in crowded areas. We’re not afraid to launch it around so many people,” Meng Qiu states. Even if it crashes, the shielded rotors aren’t going to hurt anyone – and the AI-powered device itself shouldn’t be damaged either thanks to the strength of the carbon fiber, the material used to make Formula 1 cars.
Since the team came out of the shadows in April, they’ve been keeping a close eye on the chosen few who became beta testers ahead of the launch. There are up to 100 people who got early access to the drone with its 13MP photos and 4K video.
GIF by Tech in Asia. From video by Zero Zero Robotics.
Battery life, once pegged at eight minutes, is now 10 minutes. “Still nothing to brag about,” notes Meng Qiu, but it’s one of the refinements they’ve all been working on in the past six months. The batteries are easy to swap and there’ll be two provided in the box.
Taking off
While the boss admits that people “are not going up Everest” with the Hover Camera in the same way they might with a rougher and tougher DJI drone, it’s still being used to great effect for things like BMX biking and skateboarding. It’s not just for BBQ parties.
Photo credit: Zero Zero Robotics.
Meng Qiu also concedes that some compelling new drones have come on the market since his team first hit the headlines earlier this year, but there’s still nothing quite like the safe and smart Hover Camera. The new DJI Mavic – “a great product,” he says – might be foldable and pocketable, but it still has finger-chopping blades. And it’s pricier at US$999. There’s also the budget-minded Zerotech Dobby selfie drone at US$399.
Unlike most new hardware startups, the Zero Zero Robotics crew has avoided taking the gizmo to Kickstarter or Indiegogo.
Once fully folded, the drone is no bigger than a hardback novel. Photo credit: Zero Zero Robotics.
Production of the Hover Camera is already ramping up and will continue daily. There are a few thousand units ready to ship. “No crazy flash sales,” Meng Qiu vows, referring to the way firms like OnePlus and Xiaomi often sell their phones, which involves an invite system and often a lot of frustration.
The manufacturing process created a “crazy amount of financial pressure,” says the founder, because it ate into the US$23 million series A funding it got from major investors – money which was also being used for the huge expense of research and development into the hardware and AI, as well as paying for a team that has grown gradually to 120 people.
Nonetheless, it was the “right thing” to avoid taking money from people so as to focus on doing things their way – “to under-promise and over-deliver,” he explains.
This post This awesome Hover Camera drone goes on sale today appeared first on Tech in Asia.
from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/carbon-fiber-hover-camera-indoor-drone-goes-on-sale-now
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