Everybody seems to want a drone these days. This seems to be more common among videographers, and for a good reason. Drones provide an extremely flexible platform for photography, especially for extreme sports. They allow you to get the kind of helicopter shots that were taken by professionals with helicopters. However, piloting a drone is not easy and you will need an operator – unless you have Airdog.
The Airdog is quite simple to use. You simply have to hook your camera up to the drone, and strap the controls on your wrist. Just before you are ready to get into position for a shot, all you have to do is tap the control to launch the drone and it will track you with the wristband. Then just go ahead and do whatever it is you wanted to record. One point you must remember – you will have only 10 to 15 minutes to do whatever you have in mind before the drone is to land.
The Airdog is a quadcopter that has roto arms that you can fold in to ease storage when you are not using it. The makers are saying that it is completely autonomous and needs no remote control to fly. You can input the basic flight settings with the device’s AirLeash feature, which is a dedicated beacon for Airdog (it is the wristband mentioned earlier). You can also wear it on your helmet.
To configure more advanced flight modes, record footage, and share the video clips online, you will have to download Airdog’s smartphone app. In case you are not comfortable with the app controls, you can control flight modes manually.
You can choose from six basic modes. In the auto–flow mode, the quadcopter will follow you and maintain the position and altitude you have set. The relative- position mode will ensure that the drone keeps its position relative to the compass direction from you, and with the follow -track mode you can run through a certain track and the drone will follow you diligently. In this mode, you can set additional camera angles and controls.
With the hover and aim mode, you can get the Airdog to maintain its position in one location while tracking you with its camera. The circle mode allows you to set an area and radius around which the drone will circle. In the look-down mode, you can train the Airdog over one particular place with its camera pointing directly downwards. This mode can be useful while shooting skate- ramps or jumps.
Weighing about 1.7 kg and a maximum speed of 64km per hour, the Airdog can fly for about ten to fifteen minutes between recharge cycles. This time is, however, dependent on its usage. It works with a GoPro camera that is sold separately, and a 2 – axis gyro – stabilized gimbal in order to keep videos stable.
It has been designed to shut down its motors in case it collides with anything and is quite easily repairable if it is damaged. The creators say that it is quite durable and can be used in sub- zero temperatures, in winds up to 23 knots, and in rain, sleet and snow.
If you want one, rush and buy it for $1,599 from https://www.airdog.com
