CESpotlight 2016: Drone fever takes over CES!

This year’s CES was under attack!

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…And every reporter on site is on it. To be honest, everyone saw it coming as far back as last year’s CES. The show floor is filled with drones; or to be more precise, hovering over the show floor. We’ve sifted through all the drones and give the best ones.

The Drone You Can Ride

Chinese company Ehang announced at this year’s CES its prototype, the 184. What makes the 184 special is that this completely autonomous drone can accommodate one passenger – a real live human passenger (at least when it comes to production and there are passengers willing to ride the 184). Specs-wise, the eight-propeller 184 can go as fast as 62mph or a little less than 100kph. It can climb as high as 11,480ft (approx. 3.4km) and will last 23min of flying time. As far as drones go, it is big at 18ft (approx. 5.48m) and weighs 440lbs (approx. 199.58kg) but as far as transportation vehicles go, the Ehang 184 is a featherweight.

As I said earlier, the Ehang 184 is completely autonomous. There is a touch display in front of the passenger to input destination and let the 184 do its thing. Without user input, the passenger doesn’t need a flying license. This also means that there is no passenger override in case of an emergency. But not to worry, Ehang promises all kinds of failsafes and multiple backups. Although, one wouldn’t mind a parachute at the ready as a panacea.

The Drone That Follows You

Ok. Let’s admit that selfies are a thing and it here to stay. With the drone from Lily Robotics, you can be one step of the selfie thing by having an autonomous drone follow you and record everything you do in full 1080p/60. With a tracking device, the Lily will follow its user everywhere and can determine the best angles to take. Aside from recording 1080p videos, the Lily can record 120fps (slo-mo) video at 720p and take 12MP photos. It’s also water-proof so you won’t have to worry taking it to beach and record your best Baywatch run.

Currently, the Lily is pre-selling for $799 (approx. PhP37,800) on their website and will sell for $999 (approx. PhP47,200) when it ships.

The Long Flight Drone

The problem with multi-rotor drones is that it takes a lot to power to keep these things in flight. This means relatively short flight times. This can be really annoying for drone enthusiasts that either have to recharge their drones often or carry extra batteries. This can really be a big problem for professional videographers that need their drones to stay aloft for a while.

French robotics company Parrot, best known for their AR.Drone and Bebop drones, has announced the Disco. The Disco’s fixed wing design allows it to stay longer in the air because it is essential an autonomous airplane with a 14MP camera in its nose that record 1080p videos. Just throw the Disco into the air and it will fly by itself. Just like its previous products, you can control the Disco though your smartphone if you need to or an RC controller. When you’re done, just taps on the Return Home button and it will come back and automatically land by itself. The Disco has a top speed for 50mph (approx. 80kph) and the best bit about the Disco is that it can stay in the air for 45mins.