Future or present? Autonomous drones for sports video shooting
An unmanned aerial vehicle, a drone or a kopter will not surprise anyone today. From novice model airplanes to Hollywood, everyone buys, collects, “flies” and fills the sky around us with flying robots. Store shelves, especially Chinese ones, are filled with ready-made kits and spare parts and any housewife today can afford a drone. Allow then yes, but to be controlled with it? If you have or had a copter, then you know that without piloting skills such a device will live with the owner for a long time — either fly away or break. Recently, devices have begun to appear, operating in semi-automatic mode and capable of automatic missions. But, one way or another, you have to manage such a copter and for that you need certain skills.
I, as the owner of a video copter and, moreover, as a lover of active sports, have always dreamed that someday the moment will come when I can finally get into the frame too. And already as the main actor, and without the remote control unit. Just enjoying the descent from the mountain on a snowboard, or riding a motorcycle on a motorcycle track.
Until yesterday it was just a dream. Unfortunately, no drone on the market was capable of that. In the world of DIY, enthusiasts have long tried to do something like this: add an object tracking function to an ordinary copter. For example, a mobile phone. It was possible with varying success, it worked unreliably and required the presence of a pilot to lift the drone into the air, activate the following mode, then set it down and turn it off. And the technology of following the coordinates according to the GPS receiver's indications is also far from ideal, since GPS error ± 5-10 meters.
')
But just the other day it happened!
AirDog has appeared. More precisely, it became available for pre-order on Kickstarter . Developers made a statement a few months earlier on Facebook and YouTube .
So, what kind of animal is this?
AirDog is a small folding "sports" quadrocopter that can do everything for you. Sam takes off, flies, shoots and sit down. Moreover, it follows any object, just attach a special sensor to it - and the copter, like a dog, will accurately monitor any movements of its target - it will catch up, point the camera and not fall behind until the battery sits :) This is well reflected in that part of the adware video showing drift motorcycle.
The developers of AirDog claim that the copter is not afraid of bad weather, neither rain nor snow, flying at speeds of up to 70km / h - a real extreme! They also promise to provide him with various shooting modes corresponding to the specifics of different sports, for example, for surfing - a delayed start from the coast and landing there.
The uniqueness of AirDog in its control panel, or target, followed by the drone.
"
This remote is waterproof, suitable for use with gloves, even without looking at it, thanks to large buttons located on the sides. It is this remote control that provides precise tracking of the “target” movement, since it is equipped not only with GPS, but with a whole set of inertial sensors: a three-axis gyroscope, an accelerometer, a compass, a barometer. The developers also equipped the Long Range gadget with a Bluetooth module and promise a range of up to 300 meters, which is quite enough, given the wide-angle around the GoPro cameras.
The fact that AirDog is initially oriented towards extreme sportsmen, both professionals and amateurs, is also captivating. That is, the drone must be durable and easy to use.
Not without a special application for smartphones. With its help, you can adjust various parameters, as well as edit the flight paths for a special mode when the target moves along a pre-recorded track. Apparently this helps AirDog more precisely fit in turns and go around obstacles. Yes, this is worth mentioning - AirDog does not see anything around but its goal. This means that the user will still have to think about the drone flying high enough and far from the potential dangers. The situation is saved by convenient buttons on the remote, with which the copter can be instantly raised higher or “moved” or commanded to stop and sit down. Such an approach to management looks intuitive and understandable to any crazy extreme. The developers claim that the obstacle rounding technology is under development and will soon be available to all owners as an additional module.
In general, the project looks very promising, and it seems that very soon everyone will be able to easily buy a smart “flying dog” in the store.
PS I think it should be said that I personally have a direct relationship with the AirDog project as a developer, but due to natural modesty I chose a third-person description form, please understand and forgive.
I, as the owner of a video copter and, moreover, as a lover of active sports, have always dreamed that someday the moment will come when I can finally get into the frame too. And already as the main actor, and without the remote control unit. Just enjoying the descent from the mountain on a snowboard, or riding a motorcycle on a motorcycle track.
Until yesterday it was just a dream. Unfortunately, no drone on the market was capable of that. In the world of DIY, enthusiasts have long tried to do something like this: add an object tracking function to an ordinary copter. For example, a mobile phone. It was possible with varying success, it worked unreliably and required the presence of a pilot to lift the drone into the air, activate the following mode, then set it down and turn it off. And the technology of following the coordinates according to the GPS receiver's indications is also far from ideal, since GPS error ± 5-10 meters.
')
But just the other day it happened!
AirDog has appeared. More precisely, it became available for pre-order on Kickstarter . Developers made a statement a few months earlier on Facebook and YouTube .
So, what kind of animal is this?
AirDog is a small folding "sports" quadrocopter that can do everything for you. Sam takes off, flies, shoots and sit down. Moreover, it follows any object, just attach a special sensor to it - and the copter, like a dog, will accurately monitor any movements of its target - it will catch up, point the camera and not fall behind until the battery sits :) This is well reflected in that part of the adware video showing drift motorcycle.
The developers of AirDog claim that the copter is not afraid of bad weather, neither rain nor snow, flying at speeds of up to 70km / h - a real extreme! They also promise to provide him with various shooting modes corresponding to the specifics of different sports, for example, for surfing - a delayed start from the coast and landing there.
The uniqueness of AirDog in its control panel, or target, followed by the drone.
"This remote is waterproof, suitable for use with gloves, even without looking at it, thanks to large buttons located on the sides. It is this remote control that provides precise tracking of the “target” movement, since it is equipped not only with GPS, but with a whole set of inertial sensors: a three-axis gyroscope, an accelerometer, a compass, a barometer. The developers also equipped the Long Range gadget with a Bluetooth module and promise a range of up to 300 meters, which is quite enough, given the wide-angle around the GoPro cameras.
The fact that AirDog is initially oriented towards extreme sportsmen, both professionals and amateurs, is also captivating. That is, the drone must be durable and easy to use.
Not without a special application for smartphones. With its help, you can adjust various parameters, as well as edit the flight paths for a special mode when the target moves along a pre-recorded track. Apparently this helps AirDog more precisely fit in turns and go around obstacles. Yes, this is worth mentioning - AirDog does not see anything around but its goal. This means that the user will still have to think about the drone flying high enough and far from the potential dangers. The situation is saved by convenient buttons on the remote, with which the copter can be instantly raised higher or “moved” or commanded to stop and sit down. Such an approach to management looks intuitive and understandable to any crazy extreme. The developers claim that the obstacle rounding technology is under development and will soon be available to all owners as an additional module.
In general, the project looks very promising, and it seems that very soon everyone will be able to easily buy a smart “flying dog” in the store.
PS I think it should be said that I personally have a direct relationship with the AirDog project as a developer, but due to natural modesty I chose a third-person description form, please understand and forgive.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/226881/
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