This is one of the coolest things we’ve seen in a long time. AirDog is a system involving an HD camera-equipped quadcopter drone, and a ruggedized portable “leash” that you carry on your person at all times. In this fashion, you can have the drone follow you as you move around, filming your stunts from above. Since you have the emitter beacon (the AirLeash) on your person, it knows where you are exactly, and is able to keep the shot focused and somewhat centered in the frame. The camera is kept steady through the use of a gyro-stabilized gimbal, and produces some cinematic shots of incredible quality, at least if you judge by the sample footage.
The portable beacon has some controls on it which allow you to set the height and angle of the camera, while a smartphone app allows greater control over flight paths. There are a ton of presets, as well as the ability to create your own. You’ll get between 10 and 20 minutes of flight time, depending on speed, which maxes out at 40mph.
It’s a really fantastic system and unlike anything we’ve come across in this field. It won’t be cheap, sure, but if you pledge now you can get a $300 from its estimated retail price of $1,500. So that’s $1,195 for now, with an estimated shipping date of November of this year.
[ Project Page ]
