In addition, rotating stereo cameras monitor their surroundings.
The foldable hover camera Passport drone made a big impression when it first launched a few years ago, then received a major update in April last year, adding a smartphone-free mode that would automatically track its owner and records is. Barring Snap’s rumored takeover (which Zero Zero Robotics still denies today), we’ve barely heard from the drone maker, but are back today with a surprising announcement: the launch of the second drone, the Hover 2, to take a selfie.
As you expect, the Hover 2 inherited the best parts of the passport, most notably the compact, foldable form factor, strong carbon fiber cage case, Qualcomm Snapdragon processor (the model is unspecified but four times more than before being robust ), 4K video capture at 30fps, face tracker and body tracker. Both drones look alike from a distance, although the new model has only 10 minutes to 19 minutes (but the maximum flight time is 23 minutes, the latter longer), twice the original flight time. This could explain a heavier weight of 490 grams, or about 1.1 pounds – twice the weight before that.
When you turn the switch, you’ll see a major new feature on the Hover 2: its rotating “optical radar” projecting from the top of the body. Thanks to the stereo cameras in this unit, the drone gets depth perception to avoid interruptions in any direction of travel – such as the SkyDayo’s R1, but with far fewer sensors and a more portable form factor (and of course, It is very cheap). So yes, this “radar” does a 360-degree rotation, and when used by 3D SLAM drone mapping, inertial distance measurement, and path planning features, it is good for detecting obstacles up to 10 meters. , Not quickly. Over 7 meters. In other words, the machine can fly sideways on its own and even backward with very little exposure, while the main camera continues to shoot the subject. As before, prolapse should be searched for abdominal protection.
Another feature provided by this “optical radar” is enhanced target tracking. In some gratitude, the Hover 2, baked into a Smart Snapdragon chip, can use all three cameras to track its ascending target at high speeds, so much so that it is able to predict the trajectory when the target is out of sight. It is also capable of determining a person’s distance, and whether he is looking forward or behind it. This is impressive for such a drone, but of course, I feel that when I finally try myself at some point.
The main camera alone received a real upgrade. It does not include a new 1 / 2.3-inch 12MP sensor with better image quality, but the entire camera is now suspended from 90 ° to zero ° on the dual-axis. It is also supported by electronic image stabilization which was already in the passport. For storage, the Hover 2 has dug up 32 GB of internal space in favor of expanding the microSD to 128 GB, although you still get 8 GB of internal memory to start things off. There is also new RAW photo capture, but the video is still limited to MP4.
Hover 2 has competitive pricing on Kick2 for $ 399 for now; however, the future retail price of $ 699 is not too bad compared to the initial passport price point of $ 599. Although I was a bit nervous this time with no initial chance to score, but assuming that Wang and his team were working hard to fix the drone’s various tracking features, I was glad to wait a while was required.
