This compact aerial photography drone fits inside your sling bag, deploys in an instant





A folding drone designed for aerial photography and stable video shooting – ideal for enthusiasts who don’t fancy the hassle of carrying around a pro drone like DJI Mini 2.

Drone photography has opened up countless options for social media influencers to give their followers a whole new perspective of things. Understandably, a drone that is compact and easy to deploy for quick shots or footage from the air is advantageous. This has triggered an influx of portable drones inspired by the DJI Mini 2 or Mavic Air 2. The likes of the LIFE DRONE or the Xenon Drone concept that already got our thumbs up.

Another palm-sized drone having a high probability of making it past the drawing board and in the possession of enthusiast photography travelers is the Drone 1, rotate and fly drone. Winner of the Red Dot Concept Design Award 2021, the portable flying machine designed by Maya Prokhorova is no bigger than the MacBook Air in the fully folded configuration. It comes with a 4K capable camera for hight quality photo or video shooting on the go – taking the gadget right out of your pocket or backpack.

Drone 1 rests inside the hard case, and when the need arises, you simply take it out, rotate the quadcopter with a click motion and it’s ready to fly. The 90 degrees rotating motion is highlighted by the tactile sensation, just like a Rubik’s cube. Also, the camera can be set to the functioning position by pressing the switch-like button on the bottom section. Now that is utterly satisfying, isn’t it? Weighing just 200 grams, the quadcopter is loaded with all the advanced sensors to navigate through tight spaces or follow the waypoints via the compatible app on phone!

Designer: Maya Prokhorova

 

 

This sleek drone fits in your pocket and transforms uses its magnetic modular design!

The rise of drone photography and videography has opened the door to plenty of technological and design advancements. Likewise, with the rise of social media, drones have seen some major improvements across the board, spanning from obstacle avoidance to camera quality and speed. Adding portability to the list, industrial designer Kendal Toerner conceptualized Xenon Drone, a handheld and modular drone designed for the most rugged of adventures.

Xenon Drone was first designed for the drone videographer looking for a drone that’s as durable as it is portable. Noticing the lack of handheld and high-quality drones on the market, Toerner sought to balance functionality and space. Broken down into three pieces, Xenon Drone is made from recyclable, plant-based thermoplastic and features a magnetic launching pad wedged between two drone modules. To communicate Xenon’s portability and simplicity, Toerner designed the drone to be versatile in its assembly, resulting in three different possible forms for flying and stacking achieved via magnetic connectors.

Getting Xenon Drone out of your hands and into the sky is simple—users need only attach the two drone modules at their center magnetic grooves, connect their propellers, and let it fly. One end of each module contains the chunk of embedded electronic wiring; the other end holds Xenon Drone’s triple-axis gimbal camera and batteries. But, while getting it up in the air is exciting, Toerner didn’t lose sight of the importance of a safe landing. Embedded with ultrasonic sensors, Xenon Drone depends on a magnetic landing wand to guide its safe descent—by raising the magnetic wand, Xenon Drone can land safely no matter where it flies from.

Users can also control Xenon Drone’s route from their smartphones using an elastic joystick controller that can adapt to almost any smartphone. From your smartphone, Xenon Drone’s joystick controller displays the drone’s altitude, distance, and velocity, as well as the haptic joystick and pan controls. In addition, integrated GPS technology and Bluetooth connectivity allow users to locate Xenon Drone wherever it lands.

Designer: Kendall Toerner

Broken down into two parts, each module of the Xenon Drone attaches at its magnetic center.

A launching pad was wedged between the two modules to ensure an effective takeoff.

Embedded magnetic springs pluck out to deploy each drone module.

After the two modules connect, propellers are attached before Xenon can take flight.

Xenon’s magnetic connector.

Users need only attach the two modules and connect their respective propellers.

A magnetic landing wand guides Xenon in a safe descent.

An elastic joystick controller allows users to choose Xenon’s route.

“By modulating an electromagnetic force on your fingertip, the flat surface of the controller feels just like a joystick. The further from the center, the more resistance. This allows for eyes-off flying, mitigating finger-drifting issues,” Toerner notes.

“Using the onboard transceiver, GPS, and Bluetooth, the exact location of the two drone parts is always known even when they separate.”

“A camera with a triple-axis gimbal allows for optical image stabilization and manual panning. Having both a wide-angle and telephoto lens allows for unique options when capturing adventures.”

“A thermoplastic, layer-based circuit board can be decoupled from its components with a hot liquid solvent, allowing for reuse and recycle of almost every part. Xenon is manufactured using renewable energy, plant-based thermoplastic, (recyclable) metal, and can be fully disassembled because it uses fasteners and a removable thermal adhesive.”

Go aerial, GoPro!

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Badminton meets photography with the Birdie attachment for the GoPro! This shuttlecock-esque accessory for the GoPro gives you amazing aerial shots without the need for an expensive drone. Unlike the rocket shaped AER attachment for the GoPro that propels it in a trajectory, the Birdie is actually designed to travel vertically upward and then take beautiful aerial shots while descending downwards. The attachment’s shuttlecock inspired shape makes sure the camera lens is always facing downward while it drops from the skies!

The Birdie has a soft base that mounts the GoPro. This breaks the impact when your GoPro hits the floor, so your camera doesn’t take any damage whatsoever. It even floats on water, which means you can use the Birdie in the swimming pool, or at the beach or lakeside! Trust me, the results are marvelous, and you don’t even need to break the bank to buy a drone for these amazing aerial shots! Don’t believe me? Check out the #birdiepic on Instagram!

Designer: Ianai Urwicz

BUY IT NOW: $49 $59

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New construction at Apple’s North Carolina data center poses for aerial photographs

New construction at Apple's North Carolina data center poses for aerial photographs

Photos courtesy of Wired reveal that Apple's new "tactical" data center at its Maiden, North Carolina facility is well on its way to completion. Captured with the help of a decidedly low-tech airplane -- a 1949 Piper PA-11 Cub Special, if you must know -- the shots feature what appear to be the facade of the $1.9 million, 21,000 square-foot structure that was outed last month. The images also show glimpses of a second 20-megawatt photovoltaic array and what may be the foundations of the complex's planned 4.8-megawatt biofuel cell plant, which will convert biogas into electricity. With Apple's upcoming Reno project getting the rubber stamp of approval, it doesn't seem like the company will run out of construction projects any time soon. Click on through to the source link for the full set of pictures and analysis.

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New construction at Apple's North Carolina data center poses for aerial photographs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bing Maps piles on 215TB of new Bird’s Eye imagery, proves it’s a small world after all

Bing Maps piles on 215TB of new Bird's Eye imagery, proves it's a small world after all

Did you think Microsoft was done with Bing Maps updates after it threw a whopping 165TB of satellite imagery at virtual explorers? You've got another thing coming. The mapping crew in Redmond has thrown another 215TB of data over the fence, this time targeting its Bird's Eye views. Most of the attention is on Australia, Europe, New Zealand and Tokyo, although Microsoft has seen fit to sharpen up some of its US visuals in the process. All told, there's over 88,800 square miles covered by the new and updated aerial shots -- enough to make sure that we'll never have trouble finding Cinderella Castle at Tokyo Disneyland.

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Bing Maps piles on 215TB of new Bird's Eye imagery, proves it's a small world after all originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 22:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Earth 7.0 for Android brings new, super-detailed 3D maps for some cities (update: video)

Google Earth for Android gets new 3D maps for some cities

Here's a bit of a surprise that slipped under the radar during the Google I/O keynote: Google Earth for Android has been updated to 7.0 to take advantage of the new 3D map technology it unveiled at another special event just a few weeks ago. As a refresher, the visuals are automatically created from 45-degree aerial imagery and can pick up 3D elements as subtle as trees. Before you go racing to your hometown to see how it looks in 3D, be aware that just a handful of cities and regions exploit that dimension. Besides San Francisco Bay, the full coverage extends to Boulder, Boston, Charlotte, Lawrence, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, Santa Cruz and Tampa in the US, with Rome being the lone international hotspot. If that's too few places to visit, there's always the addition of guided tours. Android users can head over Google Play to get the update today; iOS users shouldn't fret, as they'll get the new maps soon.

Update: Google now has video, if you'd rather not (or can't) install the app to try it yourself.

Continue reading Google Earth 7.0 for Android brings new, super-detailed 3D maps for some cities (update: video)

Google Earth 7.0 for Android brings new, super-detailed 3D maps for some cities (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 15:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bing Maps More Than Doubles Its Satellite and Aerial Photography Database


Bing Maps has announced that it has massively increased its aerial and satellite photography database. Previously there was 129 TB of total aerial data in the Bing Maps database. The recent update...

Google Earth adds balloon and kite aerial imagery, invites you to contribute

Google Earth adds balloon and kite aerial imagery, invites you to contribute

Google Earth already offers quite a variety of ways to explore the planet, but the folks in Mountain View never seem content to leave things alone for long. Their latest addition is some aerial imagery of a slightly different sort -- images shot from ordinary balloons and kites. That initial batch of photos comes courtesy of The Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science, which is itself a grassroots effort that anyone can contribute to. And that's apparently what Google hopes folks will do in order to expand the aerial views available -- as Google notes on its Lat Long blog, all that you need to get started is a digital camera and about $100 in parts, plus a little initiative. Complete details on how to start your own DIY mapping effort, or simply explore the options now available, can be found at the links below.

Google Earth adds balloon and kite aerial imagery, invites you to contribute originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DJI multi-rotor aircraft with Ruling live video feed controller hands-on (video)

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Well that's a mouthful. Shenzhen-based DJI Innovations was on hand at NAB today to demonstrate its new hex-rotor aircraft, designed to provide photographers (and videographers) with a low-cost tool for capturing aerial images. The vehicle we saw today, coined Spreading Wings S800 (its rotors retract for storage) is a fairly straightforward multi-rotor aircraft, save for a couple pretty slick enhancements. Even more impressive, however, was DJI's Ruling, a "ground control terminal" that enables you to adjust not only aircraft direction and elevation, but also the camera position, complete with a live video feed as captured by a Sony NEX-5N mounted on a multi-axis camera gimbal. The camera mount is designed to maintain a stable image regardless of the craft's position -- once it's fixed on a subject, it will adjust to retain the pre-selected angle.

The Ruling controller is very much still a prototype, with a yet-unpolished military green plastic housing and a built-in LCD. There's also dual joysticks -- one on the left to adjust the camera platform, and a second on the right to control the aircraft itself, letting you climb, descend and turn in every which way with a flick. The duo was very responsive during a brief demonstration, making calculated movements with what looked to be precise accuracy. The video feed was interrupted slightly by the multitude of wireless connections littering the Las Vegas Convention Center airwaves, but reps were still able to verify framing and adjust position -- the aircraft itself never faltered, with a maximum range of 10 kilometers (5km for the video feed, in ideal conditions). The Spreading Wings S800 is available for pre-order now and is expected to ship next month for roughly $8,500. That clever live video controller will cost you another pretty penny, however, with an estimated $5,000 price tag and a TBD ship date. You'll want to take a closer look in the video after the break.

Continue reading DJI multi-rotor aircraft with Ruling live video feed controller hands-on (video)

DJI multi-rotor aircraft with Ruling live video feed controller hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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