Drones have found applications other than military uses and now, the consumer oriented drones are coming with the follow function. This function is the ability of drone to locate the user and fly above them. EHang is a Chinese/American company that is currently raising funds on Indiegogo for the Ghost Drone. It has been developed in collaboration with Duke University and is capable of tracking and filming the user while also being easier to fly when compared with other drones out there.
The drone is very easy to fly due to the control system that is based on smartphone and works with iOS and Android both. Ehang even claims that it is more user-friendly than the control app being used by AR.Drone. Users can make the Ghost Drone take off automatically, land, fly from and to selected way-points or even hover in place via onscreen buttons. The drone is equipped with GPS. The only downside is the fact that it is not capable of sensing and avoiding obstacles when it is in Follow mode where it tracks the signal from their smartphone and homes in on it.
Its movement can be dictated using sliders located on screen or by using a Tilt function where it follows the tilting of smartphone. It is powered by a lithium-polymer battery that measures 11.1volts and has a capacity of 5,400mAh. This allows for a flight time of 30 minutes with only the drone and a flight time of 20 minutes when gimbal and camera are being used too. The drone makes use of a G-Box that connects to the smartphone via Bluetooth and then uses radio signals to establish communication and can detect signals up to a distance of 1,000 meters. In case of losing contact, it will automatically return to the take-off point.
Pledges are being accepted and with a pledge of $375, one can get the basic gimbal version. Check out the youtube video below for more details:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88hA1tW7kfI