Here’s the next best thing when it comes to drones. The Skydio R1 is the first release of a California-based drone company, packing advanced A.I. technology to create the world’s first fully autonomous, camera-equipped consumer drone. Are you excited? You should be.
This drone companion was specially designed with outdoorsy adventurers in mind, with the drone being able to track a fast-moving person as they move through a complex or dense environment, while avoiding obstacles. The R1 will easily track subjects on bikes, skis, skateboards, dirt bikes, and more at up to 25 mph – the subjects have to be human, by the way.
The A.I. software that backs up this drone is already impressive, and possibly scary to some; it will continue to get better over time as units are exposed to more and more scenarios, making this the perfect companion for someone living in the 21st century.
Priced at a cool $2,500, the Skydio R1 drone will pack two batteries, each one promising up to 16 minutes of continuous flight, which is more than enough time to have some fun. Meanwhile, the gimbal-mounted main camera will happily shoot in 4K or full high-definition to make sure everyone will have a chance to see your adventures.
Speaking of cameras, Skydio actually uses a 360-degree array of 13 cameras and its Autonomy Engine software to allow the drone to predict the pilot’s future position while navigating the complex environment. I can’t help think about those relatively small flyers in Terminator Genisys, but I’m pretty sure drones will never get to do that. Or at least I hope so.
