Hover Camera: The Face-Tracking Selfie Drone
Could this droid replace the selfie stick?
If we had to select two objects that have come to define the 2010s, the selfie stick and the drone would be among our top picks. Now, Zero Zero Robotics has combined the two in one compact package: the Hover Camera is a miniature quadcopter with a built-in 12-megapixel camera set on a stabilizing gimbal. The device is built upon a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, which allows the robot to track faces automatically. Its camera can be set to follow subjects or remotely controlled via Android and OS apps. Other features include an ultra-light carbon fiber structure and a compact design that allows for easy portability. The device does have a few shortcomings; a lack of side-facing cameras means no peripheral vision for complex turns, and its battery life is currently rated for around eight minutes.
If you have some creative ideas for how to use the Hover Camera, you’re in luck; the company is in the process of opening beta trials. All you have to do is leave a quick testimony letting the company know what kinds of images you plan on taking with the device and you could get one in the mail.
Could this thing eventually replace the selfie stick? Is it just another harbinger of the approaching Drone Singularity? Sound off in the comments below.
