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Xiaomi's Mi Drone is the world's first modular consumer drone

By Cookie Monster - on 25 May 2016, 9:50pm

Xiaomi's Mi Drone is the world's first modular consumer drone

 Image source: MIUI

DJI, the current market leader for drones, should watch out for Xiaomi as the latter's first consumer drone sports some nifty features.

Recognizing that existing consumer drones are not very portable, Xiaomi designs the Mi Drone to be modular. You can easily disassemble some parts of the drone such as the camera and rotors, and place them into a bag. Other notable features of the Mi Drone include:

  • the ability to recognize restricted zones in a particular country and not intrude into the airspace 
  • an auto fly-back mode where the drone flies out of range 
  • the use of a PCB antenna which allows you to control the drone up to 2km for the higher-end model and 1km for the basic model

Image source: MIUI forum

Image source: MIUI

The Mi Drone is powered by a 5,100mAh battery which is stated to deliver up to 27 minutes of flight time. Like most consumer drones, you also can preset a flight path, a destination or circle around a point of interest.

Image and video capture are achieved via the 12-megapixel Sony sensor with Ambarella image processing processor. The detachable gimbal provides 3-axis stabilization which is said to correct itself 2,000 times per second! 4K video recording and RAW format are also supported for the higher ned variant of the Mi Drone. Having said that, a 1080p model will also be offered later this year.

Xiaomi will offer the Mi Drone in two variants; the 4K model is priced at 2,999 yuan (~S$630) while the 1080p model costs 2,499 yuan (~S$525). There is also a backpack designed for the Mi Drone which is priced at 99 yuan (~S$20). The 1080p model is launching on Xiaomi's crowdfunding platform tomorrow while the 4K model will only enter open beta towards the end of July.

Image source: MIUI

Source: Engadget, MIUI forum

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