Selfie-Taking Drone Features Facial Recognition
Photo: Gizmag
The latest creation in the picture-taking realm has just been introduced in drone form by IoT Group. Roam-e, the latest drone to take aim at self-portraiture, is a cylindrical drone with facial recognition technology.
Roam-e is similar in size to a 600-milliliter (20-ounce) water bottle, with a diameter of 75 millimeters at its widest point. It is designed to be compact and easily slid into a backpack or larger pocket for transport and also features collapsible propellers that fold in against its body.
With a flight time of 20 minutes, Roam-e can be flung into the air and it will start hovering at a user-determined distance. After pairing the drone with an iOS or Android device, it uses facial recognition technology to detect the user up to 82 feet away. Following the facial recognition, it then combines with a Follow Me tracking function to keep them in shot.
“You don’t need a controller,” Ian Duffell, executive director at IoT Group said to Gizmag. “Once you do the facial recognition on the phone, you just set the Roam-e to follow you at a given distance. It doesn’t need to be tethered; it is tethered to your face.”
The user will need to remain facing the drone for it to continually track them. Should the user turn away, the drone will stay hovering in place. Roam-e sits has a single-axis gimbal and shoots stills at five megapixels. The drone runs on swappable batteries and is said to take two hours to charge.
Duffell told Gizmag that the company plans to start shipping Roam-e in June or July, and it costs $250.
