Getting the perfect, flattering selfie takes several attempts and a lot of maneuvering. For those addicted to getting the ideal shot from the right angle, the solution could be a new drone called the Hover Camera that flies around you to capture footage.
“Hover Camera captures exciting moments, whether snapping an aerial family vacation photo, capturing the perfect shot from above the rim at a basketball game, or recording your wedding while you walk down the aisle,” says the company on its website.
Created by San Francisco-based Zero Zero Robotics, the Hover Camera uses image stabilization technology (read: no blurry content) to capture high-resolution photos with its 13 MP camera and 4K video. The camera drone, which is described by the company as “the world’s first truly consumer-friendly self-flying camera,” is controlled using Wi-Fi via the user’s smartphone and utilizes AI algorithms to navigate its environment.
The drone can hover at a height of 164 feet and at half a pound, the Hover Camera does not require an FAA drone registration.
"We wanted to build products that are portable," Meng Qiu "MQ" Wang, CEO of Zero Zero Robotics, told Mashable. "It's very light. This is significantly smaller than any other drone devices out there on the market in this class. The main design consideration is portability, user friendliness and safety."
To use, simply release or throw the lightweight drone mid-air and it will balance on its own, taking 360-degree panoramas. The Hover Camera has an auto-follow mode, which allows the drone to track a user’s face and body to follow them. Alternatively, users can input a location and instruct the drone to fly there.
"We wanted the user experience to be very natural — easy to use," said MQ to Mashable. "We wanted to make sure the learning curve for users is minimum. So there is no remote control or anything. There's no calibration process."
