DJI Innovations, the company that made drones and quadcopters an ubiquitous sight at ourdoor sporting events and film shoots, has launched the Inspire 1 drone. Equipped with a camera that captures 4K video at 30fps and 12 megapixel stills, the Inspire 1 is a futuristic looking drone, something akin to the Skynet from The Terminator.
Undoubtedly, the party piece of the Inspire 1 are the retractable landing gears. Just after takeoff, they retract upwards, allowing the downwards-facing camera a full 360-degree field of vision. This enables the camera, mounted on a 3-axis gimbal, to capture sweeping panoramas without the feet coming into the camera’s frame.
For the first time, the Inspire 1 also features a two-pilot mode. This enables one pilot to concentrate on flying the drone, while another can keep his focus on the video being recorded. The included RC remote also features DJI’s proprietary LightBridge technology, allowing real time video downlink at distances upto 1.7 kilometres. You can monitor the video over your smartphone or tablet that can be mounted over the remote. DJI also has a free app for both Android and iOS devices with which the pilot can adjust the tilt of the camera, roll, pitch, and yaw. With the included 6-cell 4,500mAh battery, the Inspire 1 is capable of approximately 18 minutes of flight time, a little less than the company’s most popular offering, the Phantom Vision+.
Pricing for the DJI Inspire 1 starts at $2,899 with a included RC remote and batteries and charger.
