It's a fascinating device, particularly for outdoor sports. But alas, its focus on one wearer confirms my suspicion that our era will become known as the Selfie Generation.
Yes, that'S all we need selfie from 50 feet, or 360 degree fly around selfie videos.... I see it coming ;-0.
The device itself is fascinating by how easy they make the whole drone filming and tracking non tech (a bit Applesque (is that a word :-)).
Don't get me wrong. I'm impressed. I want one, if the production units are as smart as what is shown in the video. I dunno how I'd feel throwing it off a bridge like in the video. People have lost drones before, so hopefully it won't get lost and never be found.
Can it avoid flying into trees, etc? Does it automatically land safely if the battery gets low? Not sure I was want to take it on an all-day mountain hike if I could only use it for 20 minutes.
(Tosses it off the bridge). Oh, damn! Battery isn't charged! *smashing sound from below*
This has potential. The floating and waterproof features have me salivating over the possibility of it recording freestyle jet skiing. This has a few features that the Airdog is missing and is a whole lot cheaper than the $1300 Airdog if you order now. https://www.airdog.com/products
Now extreme sports people that don't have any friends can get in on the "watch me do stuff" action.
You exhibit a slightly limited sense of imagination IMHO. You could ask others to put it in their pocket.
I co-produced a few years of bike racing TV shows for ESPN and ESPN2. The only way to film riders over some of the terrain (hell most of it) was with a helicopter, pilot, camera man, high end camera and gyro mount. Have you any concept what that costs per hour? The promise of this sort of technology is beyond staggering. Ask a rider to stick a puck in his or her pocket for a stage and ... that's it. For the cost to have a dozen of these things wouldn't pay for ten minutes with a real helicopter and the results would probably be better.
Any sports TV show producer these days must be salivating at the potential of this simple concept. A few of these, a Mac Pro and FCPX .... jeez it makes me want to get back in the business.
I have one serious question. I do wonder if this company has any built in awareness of its own kind. Would several of these at one event be at risk of a collision or are they smart enough to have avoidance built in?
Can it avoid flying into trees, etc? Does it automatically land safely if the battery gets low? Not sure I was want to take it on an all-day mountain hike if I could only use it for 20 minutes.
(Tosses it off the bridge). Oh, damn! Battery isn't charged! *smashing sound from below*
Looking into it further, the actual product doesn't currently do what it's supposed to very well.
They are still having problems with tracking and control so hopefully it'll all be ironed out by release day.
Lacking a complex control mechanism that would normally be the responsibility of the user may mean this device would be subject to remote hacking and control.
Can it avoid flying into trees, etc? Does it automatically land safely if the battery gets low? Not sure I was want to take it on an all-day mountain hike if I could only use it for 20 minutes.
(Tosses it off the bridge). Oh, damn! Battery isn't charged! *smashing sound from below*
Why did I suddenly think of bungee cords?
Ha!
UPDATE: I wrote the company and asked some of these questions.
1. It has no avoidance system. Stay away from trees.
2. It will land of the battery gets low enough. They did not clarify if it comes back to you or not before it lands. May be a problem if it's flying out beside the bridge or out over a cliff when the battery gets low.
3. It has a battery indicator on the device, sorta. They say an indicator is lit if it's ready to fly.
4. Impossible to change batteries, which was addressed I this article.
5. They made a big deal about being able to buy new propellers when yours broke. Why are they breaking so much? Oh, because of #1.
UPDATE: I wrote the company and asked some of these questions.
1. It has no avoidance system. Stay away from trees.
2. It will land of the battery gets low enough. They did not clarify if it comes back to you or not before it lands. May be a problem if it's flying out beside the bridge or out over a cliff when the battery gets low.
3. It has a battery indicator on the device, sorta. They say an indicator is lit if it's ready to fly.
4. Impossible to change batteries, which was addressed I this article.
5. They made a big deal about being able to buy new propellers when yours broke. Why are they breaking so much? Oh, because of #1.
Like mentioned, 20 minute flight, can't change the battery to continue filming, and a 2 hour charging time (in the forest or on a mountain, not very easy) means you really need to know what the heck you're filming beforehand.
Great action shots often require many takes before it's done "right". There's certainly a market for this drone, but the long lead time is a problem. How long timewise is a Paypal price protection? If you pay now, and they are supposed to deliver in February, then push it back a few months "because they want to give you the bestest experience dude!" and you keep waiting for it, will you still get your money back from Paypal if this is a scam?
I ordered a drone thru Kickstarter, it took an extra year from the delivery date to arrive to my house, and the product was crap. But at least I got something.
UPDATE: I wrote the company and asked some of these questions.
1. It has no avoidance system. Stay away from trees.
2. It will land of the battery gets low enough. They did not clarify if it comes back to you or not before it lands. May be a problem if it's flying out beside the bridge or out over a cliff when the battery gets low.
3. It has a battery indicator on the device, sorta. They say an indicator is lit if it's ready to fly.
4. Impossible to change batteries, which was addressed I this article.
5. They made a big deal about being able to buy new propellers when yours broke. Why are they breaking so much? Oh, because of #1.
It sounds like this is a toy at best but kudos to them for the simplification they've started with 'follow the puck', it is brilliant. Someone, be it this company or another, needs to take this to the next step.
Avoidance of its own kind should also be something on the to do list. This kind of product for filming sports events could be huge for TV and film companies, forget the consumer market for a moment, some company needs to create a prosumer / professional market version. Swarm technology and cooperation technology has been demonstrated at MIT and other places already.
I am getting a deja vu though ... I am sure I have seen a sci-fi film recently where competitors in a 'sport' all had their own dedicated flying camera following them around for the passive masses to watch at home ... mmmm ... now where was that?
Like mentioned, 20 minute flight, can't change the battery to continue filming, and a 2 hour charging time (in the forest or on a mountain, not very easy) means you really need to know what the heck you're filming beforehand.
Great action shots often require many takes before it's done "right". There's certainly a market for this drone, but the long lead time is a problem. How long timewise is a Paypal price protection? If you pay now, and they are supposed to deliver in February, then push it back a few months "because they want to give you the bestest experience dude!" and you keep waiting for it, will you still get your money back from Paypal?
I ordered a drone thru Kickstarter, it took an extra year from the delivery date to arrive to my house, and the product was crap. But at least I got something.
I have often wondered if some Kickstarter business plans start and end with 'Make lots of money out of Kickstarter'.
The Lily sounds fine for personal documentary style images, only having a 12 Megapixel camera, if used commercially, even just for web use this could be restrictive and I think the required regulatory license needed for these should be included in its article coverage and advertising to ensure people are aware of the restrictions too, before purchasing.
Comments
It's a fascinating device, particularly for outdoor sports. But alas, its focus on one wearer confirms my suspicion that our era will become known as the Selfie Generation.
Yes, that'S all we need selfie from 50 feet, or 360 degree fly around selfie videos.... I see it coming ;-0.
The device itself is fascinating by how easy they make the whole drone filming and tracking non tech (a bit Applesque (is that a word :-)).
Don't get me wrong. I'm impressed. I want one, if the production units are as smart as what is shown in the video. I dunno how I'd feel throwing it off a bridge like in the video. People have lost drones before, so hopefully it won't get lost and never be found.
...get 2 of 'em.
One to track you.
One to track the other drone. :-)
(Tosses it off the bridge). Oh, damn! Battery isn't charged! *smashing sound from below*
Might be an interesting cycling training aid.
though that 20 minutes flight duration is sort of low.
buy two or three, use them one at a time....
hide the 'hockey puck' in the automobile of your desired paramour, presto, instant stalker
"siri, what's she doing now...?"
You exhibit a slightly limited sense of imagination IMHO. You could ask others to put it in their pocket.
I co-produced a few years of bike racing TV shows for ESPN and ESPN2. The only way to film riders over some of the terrain (hell most of it) was with a helicopter, pilot, camera man, high end camera and gyro mount. Have you any concept what that costs per hour? The promise of this sort of technology is beyond staggering. Ask a rider to stick a puck in his or her pocket for a stage and ... that's it. For the cost to have a dozen of these things wouldn't pay for ten minutes with a real helicopter and the results would probably be better.
Any sports TV show producer these days must be salivating at the potential of this simple concept. A few of these, a Mac Pro and FCPX .... jeez it makes me want to get back in the business.
I have one serious question. I do wonder if this company has any built in awareness of its own kind. Would several of these at one event be at risk of a collision or are they smart enough to have avoidance built in?
Why did I suddenly think of bungee cords?
Overall, this is a very smartly designed device with a limited, but practical consumer focus. Nice job by the designers.
Looking into it further, the actual product doesn't currently do what it's supposed to very well.
They are still having problems with tracking and control so hopefully it'll all be ironed out by release day.
Lacking a complex control mechanism that would normally be the responsibility of the user may mean this device would be subject to remote hacking and control.
Ha!
UPDATE: I wrote the company and asked some of these questions.
1. It has no avoidance system. Stay away from trees.
2. It will land of the battery gets low enough. They did not clarify if it comes back to you or not before it lands. May be a problem if it's flying out beside the bridge or out over a cliff when the battery gets low.
3. It has a battery indicator on the device, sorta. They say an indicator is lit if it's ready to fly.
4. Impossible to change batteries, which was addressed I this article.
5. They made a big deal about being able to buy new propellers when yours broke. Why are they breaking so much? Oh, because of #1.
Ha!
UPDATE: I wrote the company and asked some of these questions.
1. It has no avoidance system. Stay away from trees.
2. It will land of the battery gets low enough. They did not clarify if it comes back to you or not before it lands. May be a problem if it's flying out beside the bridge or out over a cliff when the battery gets low.
3. It has a battery indicator on the device, sorta. They say an indicator is lit if it's ready to fly.
4. Impossible to change batteries, which was addressed I this article.
5. They made a big deal about being able to buy new propellers when yours broke. Why are they breaking so much? Oh, because of #1.
Oh, that isn't good.
Great action shots often require many takes before it's done "right". There's certainly a market for this drone, but the long lead time is a problem. How long timewise is a Paypal price protection? If you pay now, and they are supposed to deliver in February, then push it back a few months "because they want to give you the bestest experience dude!" and you keep waiting for it, will you still get your money back from Paypal if this is a scam?
I ordered a drone thru Kickstarter, it took an extra year from the delivery date to arrive to my house, and the product was crap. But at least I got something.
It sounds like this is a toy at best but kudos to them for the simplification they've started with 'follow the puck', it is brilliant. Someone, be it this company or another, needs to take this to the next step.
Avoidance of its own kind should also be something on the to do list. This kind of product for filming sports events could be huge for TV and film companies, forget the consumer market for a moment, some company needs to create a prosumer / professional market version. Swarm technology and cooperation technology has been demonstrated at MIT and other places already.
I am getting a deja vu though ... I am sure I have seen a sci-fi film recently where competitors in a 'sport' all had their own dedicated flying camera following them around for the passive masses to watch at home ... mmmm ... now where was that?
I have often wondered if some Kickstarter business plans start and end with 'Make lots of money out of Kickstarter'.