A Drone built just for aerial video? Kickstarter says "Shut up and take my money" This week, a Kickstarter campaign by the name of HEXO+ launched, with what I thought was “yet another Aerial Drone” campaign; however, this aerial drone has one key difference which has helped it bring in $200K+ in the first 24 hours. The difference is that this drone is build for the sole purpose of creating awesome aerial shots, which have become the rage in the past 12 months. Whether shots of Dolphins surfing waves shot from just above the wave, or shots of New York from above the high-rises, or even a music video of Phoenix in the Chateau de Versailles (above), Aerial drone shots have become quite popular for their “a different angle than you’re used to” perspective. Built by Grenoble-based Squadrone System, the drone has received ambassadorship from pro surfers, skaters, motocross professionals & more.
I particularly like the smartphone control – set the angle you want to shoot from, and the drone will follow the person throughout the shot. The week in gadgets: action-cam drones, iPhone 6 leaks and hands-free tests. A look at gadget happenings, as two Kickstarter campaigns go head to head to bring us a action-camera drone, alleged leaked images of the iPhone 6 appear online, and car manufacturers call for better hands-free call quality.
Two large-screen iPhones appear in images online Last week was peppered with iPhone rumours and speculation around an iPhone 6 with a larger screen size was practically confirmed when the image on the right was tweeted by Sonny Dickson. Formerly a researcher for 9to5Mac, Melbourne-based Dickson has since made a name for himself as a reliable source of Apple leaks, tweeting early images of devices such as the iPad Mini. Tipped for release on 19 September, Apple’s latest iPhone is expected to have a 4.7-inch screen with a resolution of 1,704 x 960 – triple the base resolution of the current crop of of iPhone 5 devices, and all the more room for all the split-screen multitasking you’ll be able to do with iOS 8. Clash of the action drones The Hexo+ camera drone Elaine Burke.
Extreme sports drone follows you for gnarly aerial filming. An autonomous drone for filming extreme sports has smashed its $50,000 (£30,000) Kickstarter target in less than 24 hours, raising over $250,000 (£147,000) at the time of writing. Hexo+, an intelligent hexacopter that tracks you while maintaining a fixed distance, height and angle, is intended to make aerial filming as simple as tapping your smartphone. "It's very exciting," Squadrone System CEO Antoine Level tells Wired.co.uk about surpassing the fundraising target. They have begun thinking about the technology's application for aerial filmmaking beyond extreme sports, he says, adding "but I can't say more right now".
An electrical engineer, Level says the Hexo+ project arose in the summer of 2013 from a desire to make aerial drone filming easier for non-experts. "[With Hexo+] you don't need to care about how to pilot the drone or how to control the camera, you can just focus on your actions. " 'Intelligent drone' designed to follow and film anonymously a huge Kickstarter success. Individuals who always wanted high quality aerial footage of them running a race, skiing down a mountain or riding the open road may soon have a drone built just for them due to Kickstarter. Sports filmmaker Xavier de le Rue took to the crowdfunding platform to raise $50,000 for an “intelligent drone” that could follow its owner anonymously. As of Monday, he raised six times that amount for the HEXO+ intelligent drone. SEE ALSO: Drones from the deep: Pentagon develops ocean-floor attack robots Mr.
Rue, the founder of Palo Alto-based Squadrone System, said on Kickstarter that he “needed a solution that would make aerial filming possible in the most remote places: on mountains, in the snow, and in all sorts of unpredictable situations that were quite a pain to deal with when trying to sync a drone pilot, a cameraman and a rider.” Interested buyers will be able to get a DIY kit to build the HEXO+ for $300, or they will be able to purchase a pre-built add-your-own-camera system for $600. California startup releases drone for the masses. Screenshot for the Hexo+ on Kickstarter. Ever wonder what you look like from a drone’s perspective? The Hexo+ would like to show you. The aerial drone, designed by Palo Alto-based startup Squadrone System, tracks and follows your iPhone to provide panoramic footage. Through anticipatory algorithms and a protocol called MAVLink that allows it to communicate with your iPhone, the Hexo+ predicts the trajectory of your every movement and adapts accordingly.
Squadrone Systems, founded by snowboarder and self-proclaimed “action sports moviemaker” Xavier de la Rue, is marketing the Hexo+ as a must-have for extreme sports athletes who want to film their stunts from a bird’s-eye view without hiring a helicopter crew. The device flies up to 45 miles per hour, has a battery life of 15 minutes and can shoot video of the user from up to 150 feet away. An iPhone app allows the user to adjust the height, angle and distance from which the device records. The Hexo+ automated drone will film you using your GoPro. Squadrone System has launched the Hexo+ on Kickstarter and raised nearly half a million dollars in a few days. Hexo+ is an automated drone camera that will film you using your GoPro and follows you anywhere autonomously. It claims to be easy to use and affordable putting professional grade drone filming in the hands of everyone, according to professional snowboarder Xavier de la Reu who is part of the production team.
Users will be able to use an accompanying app to set the camera angle and position, after which they just need to hit film and the Hexo+ will take off, remaining locked to their phone. The Hexo+ should be able to stay with you no matter what you are doing, filming in stabilised, clear 1080p GoPro quality and it will even anticipate trajectory to remain at the same distance if you do a jump. There is a top speed of 45mph, a maximum distance of 50 metres and the battery is said to last for 15 minutes. The Hexo+ automated drone will film you using your GoPro. HEXO+ Drone Kickstarter. Hexo+ autonomous drone aims to simplify shooting of action scenes. Causing a bit of a stir on Kickstarter just now is the Hexo+ drone, an autonomous flying machine which, when fitted with a camera, follows you around and films your every move. The device is aimed primarily at action-sports enthusiasts who want the ability to film their adrenalin-fueled exploits without the need of a camera operator.
“We initially began thinking about Hexo+ because we needed a solution that would make aerial filming possible in the most remote places: on mountains, in the snow, and in all sorts of unpredictable situations that were quite a pain to deal with when trying to sync a drone pilot, a cameraman and a rider,” the Palo Alto-based team explains on its Kickstarter page. The Hexo+ determines your location by connecting with its app on your smartphone. The flying machine’s Kickstarter campaign on Monday smashed its $50,000 funding target just a few hours in, and is well on its way to breaking through the $200,000 mark. iOS-connected AirDog & Hexo+ drones both auto-follow users for aerial footage. By Neil Hughes The next generation of iOS-compatible flying camera drones appears to be focused on autonomy, as two upcoming devices promise to fly, follow and record users on their own with no piloting necessary.
A pair of high-profile Kickstarter campaigns for the Hexo+ and AirDog both show new types of aerial drones that are focused on auto-follow technology. Each device will dynamically track and record a user as they move, making the cameras more intelligent than current drone offerings like the DJI Phantom or Parrot AR.Drone.
With 29 days to go in its crowd funding campaign, The Squadrone System Hexo+ has already blown past its $50,000 goal, earning nearly $300,000 as of Monday. Its system is shown utilizing an iPhone application that presents users with a 3D model of their camera's point of view. Using multi-touch, users will be able to pinch and set the distance between the subject and the drone. The AirDog hasn't yet reached its funding goal, but appears on track to do so. Meet the HEXO+ and AirDog: autonomous drones that extreme athletes will love.
Flying a drone is difficult, which can be scary when you’re sending one hundreds of feet in the air around other humans. I’ve crash landed them more than a few times due to wind, poor calibration and plenty of human error. There are a few things that can be done, including making drones easier to fly and ensuring casual drone pilots actually know what they are doing. But the easiest solution of all might be just removing the need for a pilot altogether. Two hobby drones that went up on Kickstarter yesterday are mostly autonomous, taking the pressure off their human operator to keep their flight safe. The drones track a target’s movement to capture a steady stream of footage. Together, the drones have raised nearly $500,000 from early backers. The HEXO+ drone. The HEXO+ is a hexacopter, which means it has two extra rotors to provide more stability than the average consumer drone. Squadrone System’s app for the HEXO+ drone.
AirDog A folded AirDog. I’m not sure which drone I would choose. The Hexo+ Drone can autonomously follow you to your sports, action film stardom. The Hexo+ autonomous drone follows and captures video of its user without a pilot. The Hexo+ drone will have a starting price tag of $499 per unit. (Photo : Kickstarter) The Hexo+ intelligent drone launched on Kickstarter can capture the video of all sports and outdoor stunts autonomously. Outdoor stunt enthusiasts can now record their actions from a third person view with the help of the crowd-funded Hexo+ drone, which follows its users on pre-set parameters established via a smartphone app.
"We initially began thinking about HEXO+ because we needed a solution that would make aerial filming possible in the most remote places: on mountains, in the snow, and in all sorts of unpredictable situations that were quite a pain to deal with when trying to sync a drone pilot, a cameraman and a rider," per the creators of the drone. The creators of the drone suggest that the Hexo+ has enough possibility to modify the way all types of aerial filming is looked at. Check out the Hexo+ drone in action. HEXO+ drone autonomously follows the action, for under $500. If you watch almost any video promoting a consumer drone, chances are you'll see the aircraft flying along above a moving motorbike rider, snowboarder or other fast-moving athlete. It makes for some impressive aerial footage of the person, but also requires a fair bit of piloting skill. Additionally, if you buy one of those drones, you'll end up shooting other people doing those things – what if you want footage of yourself?
Well, that's where the HEXO+ hexacopter comes in. It autonomously flies above its user, shooting video of them as they do their thing. The copter communicates with the user's iOS or Android smartphone using the MAVLink protocol. It also features a 2-axis gimbal mount for a GoPro actioncam, which can either be supplied by the user or included in a package deal. The user starts by utilizing an included app to indicate the perspective from which they wish to be filmed – such as from the front/to the right/X degrees up/from Y feet away.
Sources: HEXO+, Kickstarter. Hexo+ autonomous aerial camera platform hits Kickstarter. One of the most used action cameras on the market is the GoPro camera. Those cams are used to recoded everything from biking to motorsports and just about anything in between. A new accessory for GoPro camera s has hit Kickstarter in the form of a flying camera base called the Hexo+. The flying platform for the GoPro has six rotors and can fly autonomously. The drone camera works in conjunction with an app that allows the user to frame themselves or another person in the shot. Users then choose a starting position for the drone. After choosing the person and the starting position for the drone, the flying platform will follow the person and film them. The project was seeking $50,000 and has raised over $224,000 so far with 29 days to go.
The benefits of a drone stalking your every move. The HEXO+ Drone Can Follow You Autonomously. We know there are more than a few adrenaline junkies out there who love to film their crazy exploits. However this usually involves bringing a friend or camera crew along with you, but what if no one was free or what if you were doing something that would be hard for another camera person to keep up with?
Well that’s where the HEXO+ drone comes in. The HEXO+ is a quadcopter project that has launched on Kickstarter. What makes it so different from the other drones available in the market today is that it has the ability to be flown autonomously. Basically all you’d have to do is set the aerial parameters via the accompanying smartphone app, and the drone will do the rest. The drone will allow for mounting of a GoPro camera to help capture the shots, so if you don’t have a GoPro at the moment, you will have to get one yourself on top of the drone to complete the entire package.
Hexo+ autonomous aerial camera platform hits Kickstarter.