Usually when you put the words ‘drone’ and ‘swarm’ in the same sentence, you’re referring to a near-future military scenario where drones have been overtaken by a hostile power and are posing a threat to mankind. It’s hard to think that way about a new drone-based Kickstarter though, it’s just so cute. Even if it does swarm.
The Zano drone is a mini-drone that connects to your Android or iOS device, with app-based controls that will let you fly the little thing around and shoot video. It’s pretty typical of drones, aside from its size, but there’s another feature that has let it stand out and bypass its funding target.
Zano is more-or-less autonomous, in that it will follow your smartphone around. It’s loaded with sensors so it’ll automatically avoid objects but you can also position it in relate to you (or your phone) and it’ll just buzz along in place, capturing video footage as it goes. We’ve got this sudden mental image of a smartphone thief being pursued by dozens of tiny drones now.
[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgkbhjXTbOE”]
Zano was looking for £125,000 in crowd-funding, at the time of writing – with a further 35 days left to go to raise cash – they’ve passed the £475,000 mark. If you’re planning on getting your own pocket-drone, it’ll cost you about £140 (R2,500) in pledges, with delivery expected to happen by June 2015.
Source: Zano (Kickstarter)
