For most extreme sports enthusiasts, recording their feats is a financial hassle. Outside of expensive camera systems, bulky drones, and helicopter rentals, the market for portable, affordable high-definition recording is woefully lacking. GoPro has positioned their cameras as an inexpensive solution, but only limited angles are available with it.
To address the need, ARI’s Onago is an intelligent, auto-follow drone equipped with a gimbal that can mount a GoPro. With this set up, anyone can dive into multi-angle video to record their aerial shenanigans. Onago is a beast in the air, as well, flying as high as 3000ft with a top speed of 35mph. To control it, the product can be synced to an iOS or Android smartphone to enable things like one touch take-off and return.
The smartphone also functions as the GPS point that Onago can use to follow individuals high over the woods or simply down the street. A package containing the Onago, its respective app, and a GoPro goes for $599, with an expected ship date of October 2015. ARI’s campaign is looking for $80,000 in funding by June 6, 2015.
Although Onago isn’t the first gimbal-equipped drone on the market, its price point makes it more attractive than competing products like the AirDog, which sports less battery life and slightly larger weight. Nothing really beats the Anura pocket drone for portability, but the Onago has it beat on battery life — one of the biggest downsides to most drones. Onago is a great intersection of price and capability, and future drones will see this trend continue.