November 27, 2014

Go Pro to Build Drones

Go Pro take to the skies with rumours of an in-house drone project

Update January 2022: Seems like Go Pro had a falling out with DJI when DJI started building drones with their own cameras.

DJI are a manufacturer of drones, quadcopters and other multi-rotor goodies. This was backed up by the release of DJI's ground-breaking Inspire 1 back in 2014 and more recently (2021), their DJI Mavic 3. Sadly, Go Pro never really made a dent in this industry but never say never...

Go Pro to Build Drones - DJI Inspire 1

This is a super cool drone with built in 4K camera capable of some very cool things such as:

  • 4K video at 24, 25 and 30fps
  • 1080p at 60fps
  • 12mp stills in JPEG and RAW
  • 3-Axis gimbal for stabilisation
  • Up-gradable camera and gimbal
  • IOC (Intelligent Orientation Control)
  • POI (Point of Interest)
  • Return-home failsafe
  • DJI Lightbridge System Integrated
  • Live 720p HD Monitoring with Lightbridge
  • Retractable Carbon Fiber Arms
  • Unobstructed 360° Shooting
  • Dual Transmitter Operation Supported
  • Up to 1.2 Mile Radio Range
  • GPS-Based Stabilization System
  • Optical Flow Sensor for Indoor Flying

So are Go Pro to build drones any time soon?

To combat this new entry into a fast-growing market, Go Pro are rumoured to be designing their own range of drones to be priced between $500 and $1000.

This could really shake up the aerial photo/video market. A market that is at the moment out of many people's price range when you factor in the costs. That is if you wish to use them for commercial purposes.

  • Insurance (approx £600p.a. in the UK)
  • Training and licenses (approx £1,200-£1,500 in the UK)
  • Annual license fee (approx £120p.a.)

It will be interesting to see what happens to the aerial video market once Go Pro release their drones. Will other manufacturers make their new drones "Go Pro unfriendly"? Will the prices for the industry drop dramatically?

I guess at the end of the day it will be the consumer that benefits. Because with more competition comes competitive, aggressive pricing and ultimately better quality kit.

With Go Pro now being a billion Dollar company, I would suspect that their first drone is going to be something quite special.

Again, rumours suggest that the first Go Pro drones will hit the market late 2015 so watch this space. Or look up in around 10-12 months!

January 2022: This never happened : (

Go Pro to Build Drones
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Tags

aerial, drone, gadgets


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