Drones are becoming faster and more innovative. At the latest NAB in Las Vegas, drone manufacturer DJI revealed its latest upgrade to its Phantom series of aerial drones in what has both the military and private sector excited over; the future of the unmanned aircrafts.
Although the first edition of the Phantom 2 Vision drone was released only around six months ago, the overhaul comes as industry experts have been pushing for changes and upgrades to the current systems, including full HD video recording from a bird's-eye view.
It's easier to operate, said DJI in Las Vegas.
While the public has yet to fully weigh in on the use of drones, especially after much controversy has been made over the United States military use of such devices for "surgical" attacks in faraway countries, it comes as companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon have all stated that they are looking at drone technology as a means of pushing out new ideas and products.
Facebook has announced it was looking into using drones as a means of delivering Internet service to remote areas that are not served by broadband connections.
DJI's latest upgrade has been discussed in a website detailing the new specifications for the drone.
It reported that "the Phantom 2 Vision+ has a more flexible camera module. Not only can it be tilted to a full 90-degrees, it is now also mounted to a three-axis gimbal that compensates for any movement the quadcopter makes."
It is also faster and can go around 34 miles per hour as well as being able to stay airborne for up to 25 minutes on one charge. This isn't the military specs that many in the industry had expected, but it is boost from the original version and gives space for further improvements down the road.
A cool new feature is that the drone can now be controlled via a person's smartphone or tablet through DJI's Vision app that gives a view of the camera to the user instantly.
It retails at $1,299, only slightly more than its predecessor.
The use of drones for private companies remain controversial and with advances happening on a daily basis, the time will certainly come when the average citizen will weigh in on whether or not drones should be used for public means.
