Every SmartPhone a Drone?

quadcopter Many consumer drones use a purpose-built camera system. During brainstorming at Wednesday’s Vancouver Innovation Labs meetup, we started wondering . . .

Why not use a smartphone? 


Comparing the iPhone 6 Smartphone with GoPro proved interesting: Just like the GoPro/drone-copter combo, smartphones have an on-board accelerometer, inclinometer, GPS coordinate system, WiFi remote controller, high megapixel camera, and waterproof housing options.  Combo assemblies not to scale.

dronehome-001

 

dronehome-002

GoPro wins on $price when compared to an iPhone.

But weight-wise, a high quality smartphone wins hand’s down.


And consider operating cost over the life of the drone:

Will amortizing a “lower weight imaging solution” (smartphone with high-quality lens and upgraded parts) make smartphones the better choice overall?

And it does beg the question, what happens when a smartphone with pure focus on high quality imaging and WiFi remote control comes on the market at a price-point near GoPro? 

And if Amazon’s Prime Air drone package delivery venture gets approval from national aviation authorities, could a lower price Smartphone Drone Wayfinding Controller muscle its way in on the action?

– by David Huer

 


Images & Sources:

http://pixabay.com/en/drone-espionage-camera-spy-nsa-407379/
http://www.cellphonebeat.com/10-camera-phones-compliment-photographers-creed.html
http://www.cellphonebeat.com/10-camera-phones-compliment-photographers-creed.html
http://www.bitrebels.com/technology/iphone-5-camera-accessory-unique/
https://www.apple.com/iphone-6/specs/
http://www.amazon.ca/DJI-Phantom-Aerial-Drone-Quadcopter/dp/B00AGOSQI8
http://www.kunstform.org/en/gopro-battery-bacpac-battery-p-4830
http://www.lifeproof.com/shop/us_en/iphone-5s/iphone-5s-case-2014-colors/?color=Lime+%2F+Black
https://shop.gopro.com/
http://www.amazon.com/b?ref_=tsm_1_tw_s_amzn_mx3eqp&node=8037720011
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98BIu9dpwHU

T-minus 10 and counting . . .

(My Land Rover/Virgin Galactic “Go To Space” competition entry)

contest-notice

I’d prepared a video, but technical glitches at the entry website led Jaguar Land Rover to extend the deadline to mid-November 2014. Now, after the SpaceShipTwo accident on 31 Oct, LandRover has suspended the contest until further notice. Sir Richard Branson rightly says: “Space is hard – but worth it. We will persevere and move forward together.”

And I’m still game to go.  Here is my entry + the 90 sec draft:

The background music is a favourite, and for this video for me each pluck references the flecks of stars across the sky; as if every time the guitarist’s fingers fleck the strings a spray of diamond water droplets lays a necklace of stars across the inky black of the universe.

The spirit of adventure in less than 30 seconds!

And the 90 second draft . . .

by David Huer


 

Credits:

Album: “Arc” – Track 2: “Spring” (clip) Thomas Handy, Ravi Naimpally, Oliver Schroer ©2008.  Thomas Handy Trio: http://thomashandy.com/ Used with permission.

Portrait: ©Mona Kayello, 2013. Used with permission. http://www.monakayello.com/

Portrait: ©Nancy Moelaert, 2009. Used with permission. One of BC caving’s leading lights – her courage is boundless!

Images #1, 2, & 4: ©David Huer 2008-2014.

Creative Commons permissions:

Aurochs in a cave painting in Lascaux, France. Photo by Prof saxx ©2006. CC-SA3.0. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs#mediaviewer/File:Lascaux_painting.jpg

Re-entry of Progress Spacecraft 42P. NASA Earth Observatory ©2011. Public Domain. Modified aspect ratio. CC2.0. http://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Milky Way over Black Rock Desert, Nevada. Photo by Steve Jurvetson ©2007. CC2.0. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Milky_Way_Night_Sky_Black_Rock_Desert_Nevada.jpg