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Playing ‘Pokémon Go’ with a drone is the most 2016 thing ever

By Luke Dormehl August 3, 2016

dronemonspy pokemon go drone 001 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

We defy anyone to come up with a tech concept that is more quintessentially 2016 than DroneMonSpy. A bit like the first time you heard about selfie sticks, DroneMonSpy is so perfectly pitched to today’s obsessions gone slightly mad that it could almost be an episode of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror.

The elevator pitch is basically this: If you love everything about Pokémon Go except for that whole pesky exercise thing, DroneMonSpy is a universal adapter that lets you attach your smartphone to a DJI Phantom drone, and then fly it around searching for Pikachu and his chums. Right now it’s available for pre-order through creator company Atellani’s website, priced just $9.99.

003 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

“DroneMonSpy quickly attaches to the landing gear of your DJI drone using lightweight cardboard and industrial-strength Velcro,” Agnese Accordino, strategic designer at Atellani, told Digital Trends. “By using DroneMonSpy to safely attach your phone to a drone you can quickly and effortlessly find Pokémon and hatch eggs by simply flying around your drone.”

Accordino said that the concept arose when people working for Atellani noticed Reddit users posting about simple ways to strap their phones to drones using tape or other insecure methods. “The crude manner in which phones were being attached meant that they were susceptible to causing damage to both devices,” she continued.

The fact that DroneMonSpy is made of cardboard, with two foldable openings to hold your smartphone, means that it isn’t the most rugged of constructions — although it’s certainly more secure and easy-to-mount than alternative options. To get it up and running, you launch Pokémon Go on your phone, pair it with a screen sharing tool like TeamViewer, and then attach it to your DJI Phantom by way of DroneMonSpy.

Easy, right? With that taken care of, you’re then free to focus 100 percent of your attention on wild Pokémon and the tiny matter of catching ’em all …

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I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…

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