Auto-follow drones may be nothing new, but a fully-funded Indiegogo campaign is certainly adding a new element: a $349 price tag. Up&Go is an auto-follow drone with a built-in camera capable of shooting 1080p video at 60fps and snapping 12-megapixel stills.
While the headlining feature may a price that blows most other similar drones out of the water (er, air), the Up&Go still packs in quite a few features. The drone includes five different follow modes — pan, slide, hover, pivot, and follow — all controlled through simple watch and radio signals. With a maximum range of 1,600 feet, the drone can shoot a great deal of footage while tracking the watch automatically.
The quadcopter’s battery allows for a twenty-minute flight time, with interchangeable batteries allowing for more flights.
The Up&Go is designed with a carbon-fiber frame so that (according to designers) in a crash the camera will stay safe, though the plastic props and cover could potentially see damage. Even with the sturdier build, the drone weighs only 12 ounces and reaches speeds of up to 34 mph, or 44 mph for the Up&Go Black advanced model.
The built-in camera uses a wide-angle lens with a 94-degree field of view, storing the footage on a microSD. Digital image stabilization helps keep the footage smooth.
The crowdfunding campaign for the drone reached the $50,000 initial goal in the first five days and has since then more than doubled that, which means the Up&Go should ship this fall. Now, the designers, Miami-based Jonathan Globerson and his team, are looking to fund a stretch goal to add obstacle avoidance if the campaign hits $350,000. If the funding continues to climb from the current $109,000, the Up&Go could see three-blade props, a car charger, phone app and even 4K quality.
