Skip to main content

Epson and DJI team up to let you fly drones with augmented reality

epson dji partnership drone piloting ar bt 300 phantom 4
Epson today announced plans to take its Moverio augmented reality (AR) smart glasses to new heights in a partnership with drone maker DJI. The partnership will bring about the first mass-market consumer application of AR drone piloting with the aim of improving safety and increasing the capabilities of drones for both consumers and professionals.

A new version of the Moverio smart glasses, the BT-300, will integrate with an updated version of the DJI Go app, which currently is used for live streaming video from a drone to a user’s mobile device. The same livestream will be fed into the BT-300 glasses, providing a crystal clear point-of-view image while allowing pilots to maintain direct line-of-sight contact with their drones.

Related Videos

By connecting into the DJI Go app, the Moverio BT-300 will be compatible with the full range of supported DJI devices, which include the Phantom, Inspire, and Matrice series of drones as well as the Osmo handheld gimbal.

“The Moverio BT-300 marks an impressive advance in performance for the platform and will make flying and filming safer and help users stay in compliance with federal regulations,” said DJI’s director of strategic partnerships, Michael Perry, in a statement.

The announcement comes shortly after the FAA introduced new regulations for the commercial use of unmanned aerial vehicles, simplifying the process of getting licensed. A variety of industries, from construction to insurance to film production, can now more easily rely on drones. The FAA rules still require pilots to maintain line-of-sight with their drones, however, so Epson hopes its Moverio platform provides the perfect solution.

Of course, Epson and DJI see an exciting future for AR drone piloting on the consumer side, as well. One potential use of the technology would be to overlay a virtual flight path for the purpose of pilot training, drone racing, or simply tracking popular flight locations. Photographers and filmmakers could also take advantage of gestured-controlled capturing and editing.

So really, the sky’s the limit. (Sorry.)

Epson and DJI will both market and sell the new Moverio BT-300 AR glasses when they become available later this year. While pricing has yet to be announced, don’t expect it to be cheap. The current BT-200 sells for $700, and the BT-300 is both more capable and lighter. You can pre-order the glasses now through Epson.

Editors' Recommendations

Meta wants you to use its creepy Portal as a secondary monitor
A woman is standing at a table and using a laptop with a Meta Portal display next to it

Do you remember when Facebook gave us the creepy Portal displays? These were screens with built-in cameras so we could ostensibly talk to loved ones. Well, Meta (the company formerly known as Facebook) now hopes you'll use a Portal device as a second monitor.

Meta has revealed that its Portal devices, which include the 2nd-generation Meta Portal Plus and the Meta Portal Go, can be used as a second display for productivity thanks to integration with the Duet Display app. So now even your monitor can spy on you, in case your smartphone and smart TV weren't enough.

Read more
DJI’s latest Mavic 3 update made me love the drone all over again
The DJI Mavic 3 in flight in front of blurred green trees.

DJI recently launched a new update for its DJI Mavic 3 drone that adds some significant upgrades to the camera. This comes after months of progress that has seen the drone steadily improved since it was released last year. In many ways, the Mavic 3 in 2022 is almost a new drone entirely compared to what it was in 2021. Here's what I consider to be the most notable upgrades to the Mavic 3 in the latest firmware update, v01.00.0700.

Spring Journeys with the DJI Mavic 3
Greatly improved GPS
The constant problem that has dogged the Mavic 3 throughout its lifetime so far has been the abysmal speed at which it acquires a satellite connection. For many months, whenever I wanted to fly the Mavic 3, I'd have to stand there and wait patiently for far too long. When trying to capture a fleeting moment, this is incredibly frustrating. However, this latest update seems to have finally solved the long-standing flaw of this otherwise excellent device.

Read more
The Insta360 Sphere is a virtual invisibility cloak for drones
Graphic rendering of the Insta360 Sphere drone camera attachment.

On paper, drones and 360 cameras go together like pineapple and pizza, that is to say, they are an excellent if rather niche combination. However, the problem has always been when filming with a camera that sees everything, that the view also includes whatever the camera is attached to. This means that filming with a 360 camera on a drone feels more like riding a speeder on Endor than flying unsupported through the sky. The Insta360 Sphere solves this issue by turning the drone invisible, thus fully immersing you in the experience of flight.

The Sphere accomplishes this by placing one lens on top of the drone and one beneath. The Sphere then uses software to stitch the footage from each half together so that the drone vanishes from the video, creating a seamless sphere. It’s exclusively compatible with the Mavic Air 2 and Air 2S drones from DJI and has been designed so that it doesn’t interfere with the structural integrity or various wireless systems on the drone, such as GPS. The Sphere clamps on securely around the middle of the drone in such a way that vital sensors aren’t obscured.

Read more