We already told you on a previous occasion about the fantastic campaign by XCraft, a company dedicated to drones that had the idea of turn smartphones into drones, and is that if a smartphone already has good components, powerful processors and more than decent cameras, why spend such a large amount of money on a drone if we only need to give wings to the one we carry in our pocket?
And so they presented us with a campaign about their new product, the phonedrone, an accessory for smartphones (Android & iOS) that allowed them to become authentic drones and had everything, speed, good size, portability and above all security, and it is that it incorporates a secondary system capable of bringing us our smartphone safe and sound in case something fails in mid-air.
PhoneDrone by Ethos
Let's talk a bit about the drone, this is sold as an accessory compatible with Android and iOS and that provides 4 propellers, more than 4 protection systems (against failures, electrical redundancy, vibrations and even height shocks) and an accessory that allows the camera of our phone change the angle of view, in short, with this accessory and a smartphone we have a whole professional drone which can even be controlled from the Apple Watch.
Integrated
The design of this device is surprising, and it is that a lot of electronics have been saved by not needing a nerve center for the device, instead a space has been enabled to introduce our smartphone or anyone * that carries Android or iOS, and it is They already say it well, if you do not trust to put your smartphone in the air, there are compatible Android phones for € 50 (such as the Bluboo XFire), thanks to this cut in needs they have been able to create a profile of a small drone but with enough power to take on great challenges, and they have included only propulsion systems, protection systems and a battery so that it is not the one in our smartphone that must bear the burden of moving the 4 propellers.
Security
Security is maybe the most important aspect of this product Since you have read that you have to insert a smartphone in it, and the guys at XCraft have already thought about that, they have designed the interior compartment with neoprene so that our smartphone does not suffer from vibrations caused by a flight or sudden movements , it will remain well secured inside its adjustable interior where we can even put it with a cover (and if we have one of these submersible as well, and it will be more protected), after this interior compartment we have a shell made of a plastic material designed to be shock resistant, In the event that our drone falls, this housing will receive the impact and protect our smartphone so that it does not receive any damage, since our smartphone is the most important thing.
And finally and more surprising, this drone works by running an application on our smartphone (from which you can even set a maximum altitude and safe flight zones) and being remotely controlled with another or with our Apple Watch, and like all applications, it is possible that it suffers a crash or bug, and for this reason the XCraft team has enabled a secondary system that would allow this drone in case of an application failure to land safely using its propellers, so we should not fear that our drone will fly away, and remember, all the sensors that our smartphone has on this drone will have them, and currently all smartphones have GPS.
History
From XCraft they have things very clear, they are not new to the world of drones at all, they already have their most advanced drone on the market called XPlusOne, a drone capable of taking off vertically (like the others) and flying horizontally reach speeds up to 100Km / hNot inconsiderable for a device with the possibility of including a GoPro and autonomous follow-up flights (without the need to be controlled).
They launched a campaign in IndieGoGo last year that we already informed you about, but at that time it was too early to know to what extent it would be successful since the campaign had not ended, however today the campaign is already more than closed with more than 300% of the target amount that were marked raised, between that and an important collaboration with 5 American investors who got on a television show, XCraft has a cushion more than stuffed with money to get what they propose and more.
And it is because the delivery of these drones to their IndieGoGo investors is near, they have offered the possibility of participating post-campaign to anyone who so wishes, and also benefiting from the discount code that only those who took risks when the campaign was not yet founded enjoyed, and there are discounts up to 42% being able to get this accessory for almost half its price (see prices and availability section).
Special functions
Just think about this,How many sensors will my smartphone have?, The iPhone 6s for example even has a barometer, this allows you to know the height at which it is in flight, this added to the GPS of our phone, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and even 3G or LTE connectivity of the smartphone and the sensors that by itself carry this accessory, we have a whole drone capable of establishing routes, flying autonomously, taking photographs, videos, time-lapse, slow-motion videos (with an iPhone 6s up to 240fps), following us, establishing a maximum altitude, take flying selfies, everything you can imagine and more.
If you are concerned about whether your device is compatible, you should know that works with iPhone 4S onwards and Samsung Galaxy S2 and similar or higher Android smartphones (practically any), so compatibility is another of its strengths.
And the story does not end here, plan to release an API so that any developer can create applications for phonedroneThis means that knowing how to program for iOS or Android you can develop your own application and get the most out of PhoneDrone.
Price and Availability
As for the original price, the cheapest is € 400, however, as I mentioned before, there are discounts of up to 42%, this leaves the possibility of getting a phonedrone by 230 €, and wait, that's not all, a PhoneDrone plus a Bluboo XFire (Android smartphone for € 50) amount to a total of € 280, this means that we have the opportunity to get hold of a complete professional drone for less than € 300, the DJI Phantom amounts to € 600, and the Parrot Bebop Drone and others like it are around the same figure or more, the only rival of this drone is a drone of these Chinese, from which you can not expect even half the functions of the that the PhoneDrone has.
So if PhoneDrone has convinced you, don't miss the opportunity to get one when they deliver them to those who have financed through IndieGoGo, perhaps this product opens the door to new types of content on social networks, new ways of doing use of our devices and new pilots taking to the skies. You can buy yours accessing this link.
'Casing' or casing?
Right, the OS X checker isn't perfect haha thanks for the touch 😉
And how much does it weigh? Watch out for Spanish legislation on drones. A fine between € 3000 and € 60000 does not compensate ...
Well, it is a very good question and with good reason, the weight is 350 grams and its dimensions are 267 x 231 x 56 mm, I was talking to a policeman in the town where I live about this issue and he told me something interesting, I said that officially they are not very clear in reference to drones and this type of device, their way of acting is simple, if they see that the flight poses a danger to someone or receive a complaint about an invasion of private property or similar of one of these devices, in that situation you can see yourself in trouble since they would requisition it and investigate what type of sanction it entails depending on the device it was and the crime committed, however, if the device is not for commercial use (you do not receive money for making use of it, which would require a license), it does not fly over people and it is not invading private spaces (flying over gardens or houses), that is, you are flying with caution in a lot without danger, perhaps it would approach r curious to see how it flies, but in principle there should be no problem.
That said then, it is the same as always, having knowledge and being cautious there is no problem with flying one of these, and less if it is done in the mountains or on your property (house, garden, field whatever), in those situations it is not you must fear nothing.