Out For Delivery...

 

Three words that ring sweet to my ears... or, my eyes, since I am reading the e-mail.

Last week, I ordered a Hover Air X1.  "What's a Hover Air X1?" you ask.  Thanks for asking.  It is a very simple camera drone.  "How simple?" you ask.  Well, aren't you full of questions today.  Very simple.  You launch and retrieve it from the palm of your hand.  It has a half dozen flight modes that are programmed in: you decide on hover (stays in one place, but turns to track your movement), orbit (circles around you), zoom out (leaves from your hand, flies out, stops, then flies back, lands in your hand), follow (follows behind you), bird's eye (flies straight up, looking down at you), dolly track (it flies in reverse, shooting video of you from the front as you walk).  Each of these modes has several distances you can set (like a 20 foot orbit, or a 30 second hover, or straight up 20 feet; and you can changes those distances or times.  You don't need a controller like most drones - the modes are selectable right on the device.  Press the start button, hold out your hand, it "scans" you for about 3 seconds so it knows who to follow, orbit, etc, then off it goes.  Shoots video while doing each of those, then flies back to land in your hand.

Not quite sure how I'll be using it, but it is certainly less fuss and set up than the drone I sold right before we left Hart Ranch.  And this is even smaller...

It folds to about half the size of what you see above.  It's about the size of a cell phone, just a bit thicker.  You unfold it to fly.  Press the power button, it takes a couple seconds for it to start up, and you are ready to go.

Even though the daylight was slipping away, I had to take it outside to test it.  Yep, it works.  The premise is: it can be like a tripod or a selfie stick, allowing you to get photos or video, hands free.  And I haven't seen a tripod or selfie stick that can follow you, without being carried.

An example of a quick selfie...

A "bird's eye" view...

 

And, a short "dolly track" where it moves in reverse ahead of you...

These short videos were shot while the X1 was flying in 15 mph wind, which is the maximum recommended wind speed to fly in.  It has a vertical gimbal and uses electronic image stabilization... I'm thinking that was having to work pretty hard in that wind.  I will try all this again, with less wind and a more photogenic location.

It is controllable manually, using the app on your phone.  I didn't try it, yet, but it seems a bit clunky compared to an electronic controller with joy sticks (that most other drones come with).  But, flying this at higher altitudes or further distances to reveal something scenic isn't what this is designed for.  About 50 feet is as high or far away as you can go with it.  This device is more like a flying selfie video cam.  I'm looking forward to trying it out in some real world situations.

It is half the weight of the Mavic Mini I just sold, weighing in at 125 grams (that's about 4.4 ounces to those of us in the US).  Since it is under the 250 gram limitation, it isn't necessary to register it with the FAA.  It also doesn't use GPS - it has sensors on the bottom to determine height above the ground.  Since it isn't getting very far away from you, it doesn't need GPS to hover or fly and orbit.  This means it can also be used indoors.  One very cool feature: it can use the microphone on your phone to capture audio; most drones have no means of recording audio, because all you'd hear is the whining of the propellers.  The X1 uses AI to remove the sound of the propellers, so your voice comes through clear, with no whine in the background.  Here's the test...

There is no obstacle avoidance sensors on it, so you need to be aware of where you are flying, especially when you have this thing following you (the faster you go, the higher it goes).  It loses track of you at about 17 miles per hour, so I won't have it following me on the motorcycle.  But it could be good with the e-bike.  The only limit on how long it can follow you is how long the battery will last.  Because it is lightweight, the batteries also need to be light.  Flight time on each battery is about 11 to 12 minutes.  That's plenty enough to get about 10 good video clips to intersperse with some 360 video.

Since it is designed for social media, it has AI that will do a quick video for you...

It couldn't be much easier to use.  At first glance, the light weight and small size might lead you to believe this thing is a toy.  The technology built into it seems very smart; the light weight means you can fly this almost anywhere - you still have to follow the FAA rules about not flying near an airport or in a National Park.  Not having GPS means it boots up faster and you can fly it indoors if you want (I have been seeing some YouTube videos where this is being used for real estate videos.  It's easy to carry around (it will fit in a loose pocket when folded).  The camera has 2.7K resolution (the same as the DJI I sold) - certainly not state of the art, but just fine for social media.  More expensive drones will have 4K resolution and a larger image sensor... it's a compromise you have to make to get this size and weight.  The cage surrounding the propellers is a rubberized plastic material.  No doubt, some will think it is flimsy... it is somewhat flexible, meaning it is less likely to break if/when it hits something, and way less likely to do any damage to what (or who) it might hit.  Of course, the smart money would be to not let it hit something.

The limitations of the design: it is not meant to be flown over water (it will confuse the downward sensors); the small camera sensor (and downward proximity sensor) means it won't be great in low light; it shouldn't be flown where there is a big drop-off below it (like off a cliff or out the window of a tall building); and in follow or dolly track modes, the speed limitation is about 15 to 17 mph... go faster than that, and the X1 will stop following, wait for a bit to see if you come back into range, then execute a self-landing procedure.  It is available it black or white - I chose white because I think it will be easier to find if it goes into the bushes or tall grass.

I'm thinking it will be fun to use.