DJI’s latest Phantom comes with a camera that can lock onto a person or animal and follow them, avoid objects in its path and fly back to its base on its own.
The Phantom 4 is now available for pre-order with shipping from March 15th. It can run for 28 minutes on a single battery charge and fly up to 45 miles per hour in sports mode. Most of the upgrades to the three pound quadcopter are incremental, but together they make a compelling buy for hobbyists and semi-professionals.
It features two forward-facing optical sensors that scan for obstacles and automatically direct the aircraft around them.
“With the Phantom 4, we are entering an era where even beginners can fly with confidence,” said DJI CEO Frank Wang. “People have dreamed about one day having a drone collaborate creatively with them. That day has arrived.”
The Phantom 4 also features a “return to home” button that tells the unmanned aerial vehicle to come back to a set landing place, avoiding obstacles along the way.
Useful to filmmakers is a feature that allows users to set it to follow and keep the camera centred on a subject even as it moves.
The software also allows the Phantom 4 to “learn” a person or object that’s pointed out to it. It will then follow the subject, keeping them in the shot even if they change shape or turn.
Source: Website