Is this the drone you’ve been waiting for?
By Nidhi Subbaraman
Think of it as a selfie stick with rotors. A drone with a camera that’s flown and controlled by a smartphone app is the latest invention being backed by Helen Greiner, who as a cofounder of iRobot helped develop the Roomba self-driving vacuum cleaner as well as robots with military and commercial applications. Designed to be “fun and practical,” Greiner says, this new toy is “the next generation of video camera.”
Greiner’s current company, CyPhy Works in Danvers, didn’t set out to make consumer camera drones. Its first two models are sophisticated flight machines: One is used for extended surveillance of large areas; the other, a pocket drone, is deployed in search-and-rescue missions. In March 2014, a CyPhy engineer made a chance modification to a design and realized that the twist allowed the drone to fly level, while most travel at a tilt. The team saw the modification as a leap forward, enabling an easier-to-control drone that would appeal to consumers. So it developed the LVL 1, short for Level 1.
The company sees lots of potential for camera-carrying LVL 1s. “You can use it to see if something’s blocking your gutter; you can get the shot of the neighborhood; maybe on a boat trip and a whale surfaces, you can get that,” Greiner says. As for safety, the app lets you define fly- and no-fly zones on your phone. This so-called geofencing prevents the drone from accidentally flying into a cluster of trees or the window of a neighbor’s house.
For now, the only way to get one of these is through Kickstarter. When LVL 1 debuted on the crowd-funding site in early May, fans contributed the initial target amount of $250,000 in three days (backers pledging $495 or more will get drones). At press time, the campaign was on its way to tripling its original funding goal.
CyPhy employees have tested a prototype under various conditions: on the beach, in a park, and all around Boston. The plan is to deliver the first set of drones to Kickstarter backers by next February; after that, they will retail for about $600. Greiner says several backers are hobbyists who fly model airplanes or drones themselves and have suggested features and fixes that the company will incorporate into its design. The one downside — this drone has a 20-minute battery life. Want to get a photo of your family at the beach or your kid’s first ride on a bike? Greiner argues that’s long enough to get you the shot you need.
LOOKING AT LVL 1
> Cost: At press time, $495 on Kickstarter (retail is expected to be $600+)
> Weight: 800 grams, including battery and built-in camera
> Smartphone compatibility: Works with Apple’s iOS and Android
> Flight time per charge: 20 minutes
> Number of onboard cameras: Two; one faces forward and one faces down
> Battery: Rechargeable lithium-polymer
