Hands on: Hexo+ drone

[Wireless News]

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/MzaO13PwZi9AAxgQHJtPag--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3NfbGVnbztmaT1maWxsO2g9ODY7cT03NTt3PT EzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/digital_trends_973/3eedf22c8fb0157f329b118a43e4ee6f (http://news.yahoo.com/hands-hexo-drone-171602855.html)After a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign that saw over $1.3 million in funding, the folks at Hexo drones stormed the CES 2016 showroom floor to show off its achievement in autonomy, the Hexo+. For those unaware of the Hexo+, what sets it apart from the umpteen different drone companies lies squarely with the fact that it flies itself. Period. There’s not even a dedicated controller; there’s just a smartphone application, a six-rotor drone, and your wild imagination. Obviously, we jumped at the first opportunity to see the Hexo+ in action. Related:- DJI expands its 4K offering with the new Phantom 3 4K and Inspire 1 Pro To do this, we hopped into an SUV with the Hexo crew and headed out to its open air testing site. Normally, when anyone offers to drive you 15 miles away from the Las Vegas strip and into a large, empty parking lot, you’re likely headed for a bad time. Seeing as Vegas is currently home to the largest consumer electronics show in the United States this week, our afternoon field trip was less harrowing than common sense might let on. Once we finally arrived, Hexo’s-impressive three-part demo almost allowed us to ignore the 15 mile-per-hour winds and chilling temperatures. Almost. Introducing the Hexo+ From the get-go, the star of the show was the product; the Hexo+. Right after stepping foot from our ride, the small team guided us toward their canopy set-up, offered us some complimentary water and-donuts, and introduced us to the main attraction.-Though the spiel was given through a bevy of thick French accents, each member of the Hexo team seemed genuinely enthusiastic about their device, eager to allow each media member the opportunity to give it an earnest try. Enough about the presentation and pleasantries, is this a drone you should pay attention to in 2016? Perhaps. While venturing to the parking lot-turned-playground, Hexo’s product owner Eva shared the lowdown on the drone’s relative price point and on-paper capabilities. For starters, the copter itself comes void of an actual camera, though it does feature a GoPro-specific mount for the Hero 3, 3+, and 4. It’s not entirely unheard of for a brand-new drone to come without a camera, but when you consider the $1,350 price tag, a-bundled-camera would be a welcome addition. In a perfect world, I guess. Aside from the somewhat steep price tag and expected extra accessory upon purchase, the Hexo+ does, in fact, shine once it actually gets into the air. Since the tech’s inception, pilots have primarily had full control over their drones using a compatible controller. Hexo-deviates from this established norm and deviates hard. By utilizing a compatible smartphone application (iOS or Android), users need only click through a few on-screen prompts and the Hexo+ comes to life. Piloting made easy Navigating the compatible smartphone application takes nothing more than a simple understanding of how to work a touch screen phone. After selecting that you’re ready for the Hexo+ to take flight, it then asks for a quick orientation of the onboard GoPro camera. A range of options allow the camera to film straight on, to either side of the you, or directly behind you. After choosing the desired orientation, the application runs a quick diagnostic on the copter’s readiness to fly, and once the-all-clear is given, a simple press of the take-off key finally initiates flight. Rick Stella/Digital Trends As soon as the Hexo+ takes flight, the fun really starts. Directly from the application itself, pilots have the opportunity to tell the drone exactly where and how it should fly. Considering the main goal of the Hexo+ is to record captivating video, the various movements grant precise control over capturing the perfect shot(s). Want to send the drone around in a perfect, 360-degree circle? Simply choose either “360 — far away” or “360 — close” and the Hexo+ begins flying around the person holding the smartphone at the selected distance. Regardless of which aerial maneuver you choose, the Hexo+’s attached GoPro maintains a steady shot on the pilot controlling the application. Even if the wind decides to pick up a bit (like it was during the demo), the drone’s 3-axis gimbal actively works to stabilize the image throughout the entirety of a flight. Moreover, the Hexo+ even boasts the capability to fly at a max speed of roughly 45 miles per hour, a speed the gimbal also manages to handle with ease. An eye to the future During the demonstration, Hexo-also showed off two future updates, both of which should (it says) end up being over-the-air updates to the existing infrastructure — i.e. users wouldn’t have to purchase a new drone in the event of an upgrade. The first, of which the team calls the Magic Wand, grants pilots some amount of control over the Hexo+. After calibrating a compatible smartphone to the drone via Bluetooth, a simple press of a magic wand-like icon essentially tethers the Hexo+ to the phone, allowing the pilot to guide the craft just by moving their arm. Raising your arm up or down changes the drone’s elevation while moving left or right guides it to a new location. Considering the current version of the Hexo+ and its software doesn’t allow for real-time piloting outside of its canned movements, the Magic Wand update is a welcome addition. Not only does it make flying a drone a walk in the park for pilots of any skill level, but it adds an element of enjoyment not seen in other models. While trying out the demo, we felt it was incredibly easy to get the Hexo+ into an exact desired location, even if our arm wasn’t necessarily steady while steering it. Given that this was merely a prototype, the finished update will likely be even more responsive. Rick Stella/Digital Trends Rick Stella/Digital Trends Rick Stella/Digital Trends Rick Stella/Digital Trends Hexo’s final demonstration concerned its intent to give users the capability to direct their own films. With a third-party screen and updated Hexo application, pilots will-be given the opportunity to choose between focusing the onboard GoPro on themselves, or at someone else holding a compatible phone. The team displayed this by sending someone out on a mountain bike around the parking lot, consistently switching between focusing on the “director” and the rider. With ease, the Hexo+ reoriented its camera to film the desired subject, maintaining steady flight throughout. What’s the verdict? Admittedly, I went into the demo with Hexo a bit unsure how a fully autonomous (i.e. no controller) drone would fare in the enjoyment department. After all, much of the inherent pleasure of flying a drone rests with the sheer ability of- actually piloting the thing. However, my skepticism quickly subsided after seeing the Hexo+ quickly react and respond to the application’s set of movements. Better yet, using the application and “flying” the drone turned out to be quite the good time — this is even after 45 minutes spent in the aforementioned, chilly winds. Will it revolutionize the drone industry? It’s hard to know, exactly. When drones first hit the market, the novelty rested on the fact it was fun to fly one. Like an RC helicopter for adults, early iterations of the drone-merely served the purpose of being a rather expensive hobby. Yet,-once someone strapped a camera to one, the opportunities became endless. Now, these unmanned aircraft could be used to shoot film and snap photos, while still offering pilots the ability to manually fly something. Related:- Yuneec’s new 4K Typhoon H hexacopter has sense-and-avoid tech baked in With the Hexo+, the developers understand the future of drone technology likely lies with an aircraft’s capacity to offer industry-leading film and photography benefits. However, the company takes this concept one full step further by banking on full autonomy. It’s a gamble on Hexo’s part to remove one of a drone’s primary reasons for use, but it appears it’s a gamble that has a high potential of paying off.



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