Drone enthusiasts can easily spend thousands of dollars to appease their addictions, but Chinese drone manufacturer Yuneec doesn’t think that’s necessary. The company unveiled the Typhoon H, a $1,800 drone complete with six rotors, a 360-degree gimbal camera and retractable landing gear that is controllable up to a mile away.
Control of the device is possible through an included Android-powered controller with a 7-inch 720p high definition display. Why would you want such a monstrosity of a controller? Because of the video capabilities of this thing.
The camera on this drone is impressive: it shoots 12 megapixel pictures and is capable of recording 4K high-definition video. Yuneec designed the landing gear to retract out of site for unobstructed photo and video capture, and says it even has designed flight modes around various usage scenarios including orbiting and fixed points-of-interest.
A carbon fiber construction adds durability to the Typhoon H, and the drone itself is designed to be able to fold down on itself for more compact transportation. For example, the props are completely removable from the motors, and the rotor arms fold down onto the body to fit into a compact Yuneec-designed hardcase or backpack.
“A central part of our mission is to bring new and advanced creative possibilities within the reach of everyone,” Yuneec CEO Yu Tian says.
Drone safety is a growing concern, and the Typhoon H sports a few features in that area, too. Sonic proximity detection prevents it from crashing into objects, and onboard software has built-in measures to keep the drone in the air even if a motor fails during flight. The company plans an add on based on Intel’s RealSense technology to add even more advanced collision-avoidance features, it says.
The Typhoon H is expected to launch later this year.
