[phamilyman]

Hi,

This is not a thread about the old-style photography using drones by seasoned human operators.

This thread is about the upcoming technology (launching in 2016) which will have drones auto-following and auto-photographing a user that is wearing a long range bluetooth tracker. This results in some mind blowing videos. Their cost is not exactly cheap but not too expensive either.

But imagine - going on a vacation and having a drone take videos of your family having fun. This is going to be revolutionary once the price becomes more affordable!

Say hello to Lily ($799):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vGcH0Bk3hg

and woof to AirDog ($1599 but without a camera):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcEnThx2440

In case there are others, please feel free to add.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Gadgets Section. Thanks for sharing!

[Rehaan]

Thanks for the link. A lot of people have been sending this to me, since I do have an interest in aerial photography...

The thing is that a lot of people are making awesome looking (simulated) product demo videos, along with tall claims - getting people excited, and then taking their money through crowd funding sites like Kickstarter. What they deliver in the end, is usually disappointment.

It's like being able to market a product however you like, take peoples money in advance, and then start making the product.

I don't think Lily goes through a crowd-funding site, but check out this quote from a Guardian article:

Lily’s manufacturer has opened pre-orders for the device at $499 (£319), with buyers charged immediately rather than when it ships, which the company says “helps us reduce risk”.

Drones are especially susceptible to this over-promising since:
1) They are the current 'cool' item of the year
2) People don't know the reality of what is possible and what is not
3) Drones currently on the market are rather expensive and have short flytimes

Anyone who owns a drone or has ever built one knows that technology just isn't at a point where some of the claims in these videos can be true (especially the battery life part). The more battery capacity you add, the more weight you add -- simply put, it just cancels each other out. Even the top of the line Phantoms with 5,000 mAh packs are advertising 15-18 minute flight times.

Typically IF (not WHEN) these products finally make it to the market, they are:
(a) later than promised
(b) more expensive than promised
(c) less flight time than promised
(d) worse video quality than shown in the "demo" video

The ZANO drone is one such example (it raised 3.58 MILLION dollars on Kickstarter!):
- Zano drones struggle to achieve lift-off
- Zano: Highly-anticipated selfie drone released even though promised features not ready
- Zano drone ships this week, despite apparent design issues


That said, if you want an indoor drone to play with. Go out and buy a Hubsan X4 on ebay from a Chinese seller. It'll reach you in India for $40-$50, and it's the most fun you can have with a drone for that price! Takes some practice to get good at flying it too.

[AkMar]

One video that I know of, that uses drones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_0MRYuWPtk

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

The thing is that a lot of people are making awesome looking (simulated) product demo videos, along with tall claims - getting people excited, and then taking their money through crowd funding sites like Kickstarter. What they deliver in the end, is usually disappointment.

Interesting - TFS Rehaan.

here's the other video i found about AirDog on Engadget:
http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/06/a...-sports-drone/

Nice enough - not as outstanding as the Lily video but looks promising. What do you think?

[sohail99]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Ty...
The thing is that a lot of people are making awesome looking (simulated) product demo videos, along with tall claims - getting people excited, and then taking their money through crowd funding sites like Kickstarter. What they deliver in the end, is usually disappointment.

It's like being able to market a product however you like, take peoples money in advance, and then start making the product.


Drones are especially susceptible to this over-promising since:
1) They are the current 'cool' item of the year
2) People don't know the reality of what is possible and what is not
3) Drones currently on the market are rather expensive and have short flytimes

Anyone who owns a drone or has ever built one knows that technology just isn't at a point where some of the claims in these videos can be true (especially the battery life part). The more battery capacity you add, the more weight you add -- simply put, it just cancels each other out. Even the top of the line Phantoms with 5,000 mAh packs are advertising 15-18 minute flight times.

Typically IF (not WHEN) these products finally make it to the market, they are:
(a) later than promised
(b) more expensive than promised
(c) less flight time than promised
(d) worse video quality than shown in the "demo" video

That said, if you want an indoor drone to play with. Go out and buy a Hubsan X4 on ebay from a Chinese seller. It'll reach you in India for $40-$50, and it's the most fun you can have with a drone for that price! Takes some practice to get good at flying it too.

Agree with you there!

The bigger and heavier the battery the more reduced flight times.

I recently built a Phantom 2(full rebuild from ground up, using parts only! Borrowed the NAZA FC from my FC40)
Now, it has a Zenmuse H3-3D gimbal, Flytrex, iOSD and video transmission capabilities. Also, now I can use p2 batteries!

Have always loved the aerial perspective photography!
Lily, on paper(video) looks ideal for a truly autonomous aerial platform, but then we never know that they might have used a Phantom 3 or likes to get that footage!

[aditbelw]

Reviving this old thread.

The auto follow function on drones nowadays are pretty cool to play around with.

I have made numerous auto follows on Cars, yachts, jet skis, jogging and the tech keeps getting better.

This video was made in my home town while visiting our farms in Kumaon. Made with a DJI Mavic pro.

https://youtu.be/Hj7BaZin-fU

[PGNarain]

Reviving and old thread as I am in the market for a drone.

Originally Posted by aditbelw

The auto follow function on drones nowadays are pretty cool to play around .... This video was made in my home town while visiting our farms in Kumaon. Made with a DJI Mavic

This looks pretty cool and is exactly what I am looking for. Since a year has elapsed, could you perhaps update what would be a good drone to buy in the market today, in terms of camera resolution, battery life, ease of use.

I am an absolute noob as far as drones are concerned and is it recommended to buy a smaller and cheaper drone and learn flying it before graduating to a higher spec and expensive drone.

[aditbelw]

Today's high end drone can be flown by anyone, my 6 year old kid is really good with the Mavic pro and that's without any prior training.

If, you are looking for an auto follow I would recommend Skydio, nothing will compare to these in terms of accuracy of object tracking.

DJI is better in terms of photo quality and I love these as I love flying with manual inputs from controller .

Smaller and Cheaper drones are just that and as the tech keeps improving the lesser flying experience will be required although there is no harm on having these as well just for fun without burning your wallet.

Originally Posted by PGNarain

Reviving and old thread as I am in the market for a drone.



This looks pretty cool and is exactly what I am looking for. Since a year has elapsed, could you perhaps update what would be a good drone to buy in the market today, in terms of camera resolution, battery life, ease of use.

I am an absolute noob as far as drones are concerned and is it recommended to buy a smaller and cheaper drone and learn flying it before graduating to a higher spec and expensive drone.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

Reviving and old thread as I am in the market for a drone.

Do see this newer thread too : https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadge...ps-advice.html (The Drones Thread - Reviews, Tips, Advice)