The Follow-Me Battle 2015

The Follow-Me Battle 2015

Drones, drones, drones.  As the time goes on, more and more drones are hitting the market.  One of the things that I am interested in (as well as a whole bunch of others) is the "Follow-Me" modes that these drones have.  My question is which one is the best?  What does everyone else think?  Which one are you most interested in? Am I forgetting a drone with the Follow-Me feature this year? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

VORTEX MINI RACE QUAD RACE MOTOR EDITION BY IMMERSION RC

This thing is going to be fun to fly, check it out!

The new Immersion RC FPV Racing Flagship. The Vortex is the ultimate FPV racer of it's class with an all inclusive kit. Here's what comes in every Vortex Racing Quad ARF package:

• Vortex Carbon Fiber Frame
• High-End 1806 2300kv T-Motors for Racing
• Custom 12a-16a burst rotorSENSE, OneShot125 ESCs
• 32bit Flight Controller running CleanFlight.
• 40 Channel 5.8GHz NexWaveRF Video Transmitter (VTX).
• FatShark 600tvl CMOS FPV Camera
• Full Graphic OSD Built-in
• Stuffed with LEDs
• Foldable 285mm Frame
• Weight: 350g without Lipo or HD Camera
• Power: 3s-4s Capable :)
• Receiver Compatibility: Wide range of inputs accepted including CPPM, S-Bus, Spektrum.
• Flight time is highly variable depending on lipo size and flying style.

• What else do you need? Radio and Receiver

 

Source:  http://www.miniquadbros.com/products/vortex-mini-race-quad-by-immersion-rc-preorder 

#Drones #FPVracing #RPAs

All-in-One Camera Drone

I really like the idea of this drone! The features are awesome! You have live video stream, interact with multiple trackers and drones, quick and easy sharing to social media, gps tracking and lets not forget that the price is amazing! For more information read below and back the project before its too late,  I cant wait to get my hands on one!

About this project

C-mi (see-me) is the first camera drone designed with real world usability in mind.

• Stowable: Its frame is designed to pack easily in a small case or backpack. 
• All-Weather: Its structure and built-in camera housing are designed for all weather use. 
• Integrated Flight and Camera Controller: C-mi's digital user interface has been designed so that you can easily control the flyer, dynamically change the camera modes and view live video during flight, and directly share images and video - all from a single app.

C-mi evolved from our frustration that despite there being many small drones on the market, none of them combine all the features you need to make them easily usable. Either the drone is too big to easily store or the gimbaled camera mount is exposed, delicate and victim to the elements. As important, while some drones feature complex shot framing tools, they can't show you live previews!

Even the most "integrated" systems require you to carry several different devices to set behavior and monitor live feed video. The dream of the perfect flying action camera becomes lost in multiple controllers, inability to easily check what you're shooting and cumbersome equipment to lug to your filming site.

It doesn't have to be this way!

Enter C-mi. The first drone designed to easily transport to cool locations and that you can seamlessly control from a single mobile app. You can capture and share your images and videos with a touch of a button - it's that simple.

Equipped with its own 1080p HD camera in a protective case and on a high-precision gimbal, you'll capture smooth impressive video. The camera housing automatically extends down from the flyer at takeoff and tucks away upon landing - no snagging during packing or crunching on rocks when landing. The camera enclosure also makes it weather-resistant. Don't let a little snow, rain or desert dust ruin your fun.

C-mi has multiple flight modes built into the software. You can pilot C-mi manually, but the flyer really shines in its various automated modes. Just tell C-mi where you want it and it will maintain that position wherever you go. With GPS and camera feature tracking built in, you can change camera targets seamlessly during flight. Direct your own multi-character movie!

C-mi makes sharing painless with its built in network. C-mi can support multiple interacting GPS target devices, relay data between multiple C-mi vehicles, and share footage directly to the cloud and social media. You get to focus on the imagery you want to capture, not how to fly or manage the system.

C-mi takes advantage of having multiple sensors – including the camera system – wired directly into its "nervous system." High level processing allows camera targeting based on:

• fixed orientation; 
•  GPS tracking from the control app, target apps, and custom C-mi remotes; and 
•  feature tracking within the C-mi camera feed. 

C-mi is fundamentally designed to be modular. The high-level image processing and flight behavior is separated from the low-level flight control, and multiple C-mi flyers can be networked into a larger, modular swarm. However, this modularity also extends to the vehicle structure.

C-mi's six arms attach and detach from the core module for easy transport and storage. Taking advantage of this design feature, the core C-mi module has been built from the ground-up for plug-interchangeability with future heavier-duty six and eight arm configurations that can carry compact and DSLR cameras.

C-mi is designed to make it easy to focus on what you want to capture. It does this by packaging a wide range of flight and camera behaviors into a number of intuitive flight modes, all easily selectable from C-mi's mobile app graphical user interface.

If you want to create the perfect selfie, you can have C-mi stay in position and track you as you approach. If you want to add a richer element to the selfie, you can have C-mi orbit you creating a 360 degree panoramic backdrop. C-mi can also follow along with you from any angle. Create a video game-like 3rd person view from behind, a reporter-style moving context shot, or shoot the ideal ride along view from the side. If you want to direct your own multi-character movie, C-mi can track multiple GPS targets with the same framing options.

C-mi provides three main modes that control the flyer and camera from your tablet or smartphone. All three modes are easy to configure using the intuitive iOS and Android apps.

FOLLOW MODE:

Simply select C-mi's relative position and the camera viewing angle. C-mi will follow you maintaining its position. C-mi's camera will automatically and continually adjust its aim to keep you in the center of view. C-mi will follow you at speeds up to 40 mph.

Ninja approved

ORBIT MODE:

C-mi is designed to be able to orbit your position or to sit in one fixed location with the camera tracking you as you "orbit" around C-mi.

C-mi Orbits You: C-mi will fly a circular path around you. If you point the camera at you, C-mi will place you in the center of a panorama.

You Orbit C-mi: C-mi will stay in one position but the camera will continue to track you. This setting is perfect for putting C-mi in the center of the action.

Pano: C-mi will hover and take a panoramic video. You can easily select C-mi to rotate clockwise or counter clockwise to produce stunning 360 degree panoramic shots - or create a single 360 panoramic image.

Control from your tablet too!

MANUAL MODE:

Whether you're a novice or an experienced remote control (RC) pilot, you’ll love C-mi’s manual flight modes. You can draw flight paths relative to C-mi's current location using a simple map pane within the app. C-mi also provides a simulated "twin sticks" option on top of the live feed video. You can even let C-mi hold altitude while you enjoy "first person view" (FPV) flying.

ONE-CLICK COMMANDS:

Low Battery / Return Home: C-mi is smart enough to automatically return to the mobile device when it senses the battery is running low. You can also ask it to return at any time during flight by simply pressing a button in the app.

Pause / Panic Button: We hope you don't need it, but it's always nice to know you have a big "pause" button. If anything is going wrong, simply hit pause and C-mi will stop and hold position.

Director Mode: Easily switch focus between multiple C-mi GPS trackers and smartphones.

The C-mi User Interface has been designed to be intuitive and simple to use. Before flight, the UI allows you to easily setup the flight and camera viewing modes. During flight you can easily switch between the live camera and map views, and also change the flight or camera mode.

We’ll always be adding new flight modes and UI improvements through firmware and app updates based on user feedback to continually improve C-mi.

Smartphone Precision: We developed our software so that a smartphone can be used as a precise camera tracker.

In Unit Camera System: C-mi's integrated, weather resistant, HD camera system extends at takeoff and retracts when landing.

Remote Audio Capture: Record synchronized audio from your smartphone device while C-mi is recording video from above.

Share Instantly to Social Media: Our app makes it simple to share your C-mi video on major social media platforms.

Wireless Data Transferring: Easily move images and videos that are saved onboard C-mi to your laptop with no wires.

Portability and Storage: C-mi's removable arms makes it easy to take anywhere and quick to get into the air.

Brushless 2-Axis Gimbal: C-mi's gimbaled camera provides precise targeting and shake-free video.

GPS Tracker: Use our GPS tracker so you can have C-mi follow where you might not want your mobile device to go. Track your friend while they're swimming or surfing!

C-mi GPS Tracker by idfromdc on Sketchfab

Swappable Battery Pack: Run out of power on your battery? No problem, just swap in another C-mi Battery and you're ready to fly again in seconds! With the C-mi Quick Swap Battery Packs you can fly and film longer. Don't let your filming get interrupted, just swap it, snap it , and keep flying!

Rapid Battery Charger: With the C-mi Rapid Charger you can easily charge batteries in minutes. Charge at home or on the go with our car adaptor.

A Modular Multirotor Brain 

C-mi is driven by a modular flight control system. A higher level processor deals with computationally heavy but less time-critical tasks such as imaging processing, communications, and high level flight behaviors. Below this high level system is our own flight processor, the AshimaCore. The flight processor has much faster and more direct access to "twitch" sensor feedback from its gyro and accelerometer sensors, much as your brain is fast wired to the balance sensors in your inner ear. Sitting beneath the AshimaCore are dedicated controllers that make sure the motors spin at the required speed.

The AshimaCore is a proprietary, compact flight control system. (left: the exposed circuit board, right: inside the case)

Source: C-mi: The First All-in-One Camera Drone

REAL FUTURE

Drones could change life as we know it in America – once we get over our fear of them

A drone is an unusual choice, as far as Christmas gifts go. But last year, it was exactly what Dave Anderson wanted waiting for him under the tree.

Captain Dave Anderson is a naturalist and conservationist who runs whale-and dolphin-watching tours in Dana Point, California. Last year, his wife got him a drone for Christmas, and he has been using it to capture footage he wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise. He said in the past, if he wanted aerial footage, he either had to charter a helicopter — which, besides being prohibitively expensive, were noisy enough to disturb the animals if you got too close — or call the local news and ask them to take their helicopter out and then “beg them for the footage.”

Now, he regularly takes his drone camera out over the water, and uploads the results to his YouTube channel.

“Drones are changing how we view wildlife. It’s changed how I view it. I’m seeing things I’ve never seen before,” Anderson told Fusion.

“I’ve been whale-watching for 20 years,” Anderson continued. “In my first year, I saw a lot. But over the last 19 years, I haven’t seen as many new behaviors as I’ve seen in just the last year with this drone. It’s amazing.”

Like any new technology, flying a drone comes with some risks — especially when you’re using them over open water. Anderson has lost two drones to Davy Jones’ locker in the past year.

(In one instance, a software update programmed the drone to automatically return to its charging base when it reached 30 percent of its battery life. Unfortunately, the drone reached this threshold while Anderson was using it out on his boat. The base was back on land. The manufacturer apologized and sold him a replacement at half price.)

So: Tracking and saving endangered animals. Transporting organs for transplant. Farming. Mapping. Cinematography. Photography. Delivering pizza. The future is here, and it’s a remote-controlled flying robot.

Drones are generally thought of in the United States as tools of war, but enthusiasts are encouraging people to consider the many potential applications of unmanned aerial technology. Recently, they got together to talk about all the ways drones can improve the world.

In December, several hundred photographers, conservationists, engineers, and other aficionados gathered at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena for the LA Drone Expo. Three dozen exhibitors showed off drones and drone-related accessories, including carrying cases, 3-D printers, cameras designed specifically for drone use, publications dedicated to the technology, and graduate programs in aerial engineering. A lineup of speakers and panelists, including Captain Anderson, presented their own drone footage and discussed how they used unmanned aerial vehicle technology in their business or passion. It was the first-ever commercial drone exposition.

The event was organized by the Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle Systems Association (UAVSA), which is part of the Tesla Foundation Group.

In other countries, drone technology is already being integrated into fields like healthcare, agriculture, entertainment, and search-and-rescue. Countries like India and England are looking into using drones to transport organ transplants, track endangered or dangerous animals, and deliver Amazon purchases. Cirque du Soleil taught them to dance. In the United States, we’ve been a little slower on the uptake. Jon Alvarez, the marketing director for the UAVSA, spoke with Fusion at the expo about why that is.

“The U.S. is the last market where we’ve had so much fear and miseducation about the product and drones to not implement that technology,” Alvarez said. But he understands: The first time he ever heard of a drone was in a CNN report about the war in Iraq.

“A lot of the applications (of drones) surprise people, because they think it’s only used for defense,” Alvarez said. “It’s not. It’s a tool that people can use to make the future better and make the world better.”

Right now, the UAVSA is working on building a community of both professional and casual drone users, as well as developing legislation to make sure drone usage doesn’t run afoul of FAA regulations. They’re also designing an app that would allow users to reserve airspace for commercial drone use.

Drones were available for purchase from several booths, starting at around $450. One booth showed off a drone that could be programmed to carry a disco ball around over your car as you drive. Another showed off an object avoidance program they were developing to keep drones from hitting things like trees, buildings, and other drones. (They did not immediately take us up on our suggestion to market it as a “drone Roomba.”)

The expo also inadvertently showed off the limitations of the technology. In the back of the convention space, there was an indoor area where you could try your hand at piloting a drone. An overeager participant flew it directly into the net, where it got stuck. Someone had to climb up on a ladder and use a big piece of cardboard to knock it back down to the ground, at which point the rotor broke, rendering flight impossible and the crowd (including this reporter) very disappointed.

Fusion asked Alvarez about one of the most pressing uses of drone technologies: How long until a drone will deliver us pizza?

“Within the next 5 years,” Alvarez predicted. “Within the next 10 years, drones will be a common sight.”

Source: http://fusion.net/story/35722/drones-could-change-life-as-we-know-it-in-america-once-we-get-over-our-fear-of-them/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialshare&utm_content=desktop%2Btop&utm_campaign=naytev&utm_content=554d4d1de4b0892017de2501

Parrot Bebop drone review

Third-generation device generates good quality video for a reasonable length of time, but lacks precision control without the custom controller

 Parrot’s latest Bebop drone the prosumer camera drone you’ve always wanted. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian

The Parrot Bebop is a camera drone with a real focus on recording video and some seriously impressive image stabilisation. It is Parrot’s third generation full-sized flying quatrocopter and is aiming to fly into a sweet spot in the market.

The device is a half-way house between a drone designed for carrying a large camera, such as those often used in TV shows like Top Gear and the toy drones intended to entertain. A “prosumer drone”, it lands at the fun end of the scale, very much for those looking to make home movies rather than television documentaries, but that’s no bad thing.

Lightweight but strong

The rubber bumpers between the magnesium frame and the camera and battery body help to dampen vibrations. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian

The new drone from Parrot, the French Bluetooth specialist, looks like almost any other quadrocopter. It has four exposed propellers on four extended arms that surround a tube-like body. The arms attach to an under plate, which supports a polystyrene body containing the camera and a tray for the battery on rubber buffers that help neutralise vibration.

For indoor flight there are two 10g clip-on polystyrene shells that are designed to protect the drone from walls - and the walls from the drone.

They attach easily but a couple of crashes left marks on the wall and chunks cut out of the shells by the blades. The drone kept working just fine, though, even with a near full speed head-on collision with the wall.

The Bebop also comes with a full spare set of propellers that are very easy to swap for broken ones, should the worst happen.

The protective shells are easily added or removed from each side with two clips. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian

Specifications

• Size: 330 x 380 x 36mm with the shells attached
• Weight: 410g with the shells attached
• Flight time: 11 minutes
• Camera: 14-megapixel 180-degree fisheye lens, 3-axis digital stabilisation
• Video: 1080p at 30 frames per second
• Storage: 8GB
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5GHz) 250m range, microUSB, GPS/Glonass

Smartphone controls

A Windows Phone, Android, iPad or iPhone can be used to control the drone over Wi-Fi with a live video feed from the camera in the nose. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian

The Bebop is available with a “Skycontroller” – two joysticks strapped to a frame for a tablet – but most are likely to buy the drone on its own and control it using Parrot’s free Freeflight 3 app on a smartphone or tablet.

The app works on iPhones, iPads, Androids or Windows Phones and connects to the drone using Wi-Fi to display a live feed from the camera. The drone broadcasts its own network, and once connected works at a range of up to 250m from the tablet or up to 2km from the Skycontroller.

There are three ways of directly controlling the Bebop using the app: tilt, virtual joysticks or tilt with independent camera control. The tilt control is fun as a toy, but difficult to use for any tight control. The virtual joysticks work well enough to fly it through an office without too much trouble – precision control is difficult on a touchscreen, however.

Users can also plot a route on a map for the drone to fly itself using the built-in GPS chip outdoors.

 The drone is manoeuvrable enough in virtual joystick mode to fly through reasonably tight gaps with a bit of practice.

Stable flight

In flight the Bebop is stable and resists both knocks and the wind buffeting it, returning to its original position almost aggressively. It can fly up to 150m from the ground at up to 2.5m/s at a maximum of 2,500m above sea level.

 The drone was disrupted by circulating air currents and annoyingly spinning to the left requiring manual readjustment.

Despite maintaining a stable vertical position, however, it failed to deal with the internal circulation of air in our tests. It would spin uncontrollably when flying over simple low airflow vents or desks and drift from side to side when attempting to fly over a stairwell.

 The airflow around the stairs caused the drone to bob side to side and move around without user intervention, although it recovered from clipping a handrail and avoided a 7m drop.

Two batteries are included in the box with the Bebop, along with a separate charger. It will fly for about 10 to 12 minutes per battery. It is also quite loud and the downdraft is enough to blow papers and anything not weighed down all over the place while flying. You can forget sneaking up on anyone.

Smooth video

 The stabilisation and floating camera create video that mimics the movements of first-person shooter games.

The drone has a 14-megapixel camera in the nose with a fisheye lens and a 180-degree field of view. It records 1080p video at 30 frames per second, uses digital stabilisation and can adjust the angle of the camera independently from the motion of the drone. The image captured is flat, despite the fisheye lens that normally distorts the picture.

The video is ultra-smooth, resembling the kind of motion seen in first-person video games. Even when banking hard with the drone the video is completely flat. The quality of the video is decent, akin to a mid-range action cam, but suffers from graining in poor lighting conditions such as those inside an office.

The law

Flying the drone outside makes it subject to the CAA’s flight restrictions. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian

What you do with a drone in your own home is pretty much your business, but the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has certain rules about what you can and cannot do with remotely controlled flying objects including drones.

The current legislation means that it is illegal to fly a drone within 50m of a building or a person and 150m of a built-up area. In addition, the maximum flight height is 400m and the drone has to remain in line of sight and within 500m of the pilot.

For commercial purposes, pilots must complete a training course and apply for a permit to fly the drone from the CAA.

Price

The Parrot Bebop drone is available in red, blue and yellow and costs £430 or £770 with the Skycontroller. Two batteries are included, with extra batteries £50 a pop. Spare parts for all of the components of the Bebop are available individually from Parrot.

Verdict

The bottom magnesium frame works as a heat sink for the drone and so gets really quite uncomfortably hot. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian

The Parrot Bebop is a fantastic toy that allows users to go beyond just flying it around and crashing into things and make interesting videos and take photos from a completely new perspective.

The flight time of about 10 minutes is long enough to do something meaningful and the 8GB storage is enough to record most of a flight.

Despite being super smooth, the video is not of professional quality, but is perfectly good enough for most consumers. The biggest issue are the restrictions on where you can fly a drone. It is still fun to fly around indoors, but the lack of precision control with a touchscreen leads to more crashes than you would like for a £400 machine.

Pros: super smooth video, easy to set up, robust enough to survive a crash, fun to fly, two batteries in the box, GPS

Cons: graining in low-light conditions, difficult to control precisely, legislation on drone use restrictive, expensive for a toy

 Flying indoors within a controlled space works well for the most part. The drone can perform much better outside, but the laws are restrictive.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/