Over-the-air programming is about to take on a whole new meaning as DJI bakes Facebook's Live feature into its popular drones.
Facebook Live feeds from high up above will certainly make for more intriguing videos than those currently being taken at arm's length with a smartphone.
In fact, it was with a tricked-out DJI Phantom 4 that first showed off the new Facebook Live perspective with none other than Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
During the social media corporation's annual F8 developer conference early this week, Zuckerberg shared the stage with the prototype drone beaming live video from its onboard camera directly to thousands of viewers watching live on the social network.
Launched just last year, Facebook Live opened its gates to anyone and everyone with an account on Facebook. At first it was only available to certain celebrities to use on their iPhones, but after F8, the feature now supports Facebook users on either an iPhone or Android device.
With DJI's participation, Facebook Live has spread its wings to even more devices and platforms. It's the first company to make use of Facebook's API, which opened up to third-parties as well during F8. Though exact details regarding DJI's use of the API are yet to be uncovered, DJI did reveal that it would indeed be available on the DJI GO app soon.
This isn't the first time DJI has tried to offer live streaming from its drones, however. With the Phantom 3, DJI introduced a similar feature. It only worked within YouTube and the Chinese version of YouTube, Youku. On Facebook, DJI just opened itself up to Facebook's immensely-large audience of over one billion people.
Currently, the Phantom 4 used in live streaming Mark Zuckerberg's announcement aired in high-definition 720p resolution. The unit itself, though, can record higher resolution video, but it wouldn't be live since it records to a memory card.
Regardless, DJI has proven that it works, and that should prompt other companies to pursue other applications for the Facebook Live API. Such applications could include live streaming from digital cameras like handy point-and-shoots, wearable cameras or even straight-through cameras located inside laptops.
