http://www.outsideonline.com/1992101/let-there-be-better-rear-light
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The low-cost Microdrone may mark a watershed moment in the progression of drone technology. Photo: Extreme Fliers
A Pocket-Size, Totally Loaded Drone—for Just $125!
The Microdrone 3.0 will live-stream HD video and have a top speed of 50 mph
By: Michael Frank Jun 26, 2015
You probably don’t own a drone yet. Up until now, you’ve figured:
1. They’re hard to fly.
2. They’re expensive.
3. Capturing video requires risking a $400 action cam in a crash.
All of which was true—until now. Enter the fist-size Microdrone 3.0, a capable consumer UAV for $125.
Let’s talk about the specs, which are damned impressive for such a relatively inexpensive drone. The built-in camera shoots HD video at 1280x720 and 30 fps, which is less clarity than you get with GoPro’s basic $130 Hero. Still, considering the cost, it’s like having a pared-down GoPro that flies for no extra cash.
The 3.0 can stream video back to your phone, allowing you to see where the drone is flying. Invest in a cardboard DODOcase virtual reality headset, and you have your own immersive VR experience. You can also control the UAV through a remote control or your phone without the onboard camera.
The Microdrone 3.0 also comes with an autoleveling function—key for beginners. Most inexpensive drones are erratic, which means you crash more frequently. Extreme Fliers, the maker of the Microdrone, says its unit can be flown stably in winds up to 45 mph. That seems a bit far-fetched, but even if the autoleveling works only in moderately breezy weather, that’s a big added value.For even more video stability, the drone will also be sold with an optional gimbal ($99 retail) that autolevels the footage, regardless of the copter’s position in the sky.
The UAV even has a stunt mode that allows the entire copter to invert—the rotors autorotate as the craft flips—and zoom around faster than 50 mph.Finally, it’s extremely easy to assemble and fix. Extreme Fliers’ founder, Vernon Kerswell, says they designed the Microdrone’s parts to be removable, like Legos. This goes beyond swapping out bent rotors or adding bigger ones for more lift (although this, too, is an option). Perhaps your bird snapped a rotor arm? No sweat. Just pop in a fresh one and keep flying. You’ll also have a simple plug-and-play option to add bigger motors so you can carry heavier loads.
That will, of course, require more battery power. Right now, battery life appears to be the Microdrone’s biggest issue: The drone can fly for only six minutes if you’re running the camera. Thankfully, spares will cost just $15, according to Extreme Fliers.
There are other limitations. It has a radio range of a modest 300 feet; the signal strength acts as a fence, preventing overflight of your controls. And still-image resolution is weak: max-100 kb shots have a blurry peak resolution of 1280x720 pixels. Good enough for Instagram, but not much more. For reference, a 2013 smartphone can snap 4,000-pixel-wide, 8 GB images that are suitable for framing. That said, Extreme Fliers says it plans to sell a more advanced camera in the future.
All that aside, the Microdrone is smashing records right now on Indiegogo, raising $338,000 in just six days, more than four times the initial goal of $75,000. It’s slated to go on sale this winter.
As for its competition when the Microdrone hits the market? There really isn’t any.
On Tuesday, Parrot debuted its answer to the Microdrone 3.0, but it doesn’t stack up spec-wise to Extreme Fliers’ offering. Parrot, which makes UAVs for agriculture and automotive uses as well as high-end consumer models, showcased two new inexpensive aerial drones, costing between $99 and $129, but they’re far less sophisticated than the Microdrone.
Neither comes with a controller—all flying is via phone-based app. Range is limited to 164 feet, top speed is 11.2 mph, and there’s no POV virtual-reality flying option. Video quality is rudimentary 480x640 VGA.
Of course, there are much more expensive drones than the Microdrone and with much greater capabilities. DJI’s amazing $999 Phantom 3 has far greater range and better camera options. (We’ve been testing the Phanton 3 and will have a review up shortly.)But that’s comparing a Honda to a Jaguar. The Phantom 3 is four times the price of the Microdrone 3.0.
So, while the proof will be in the flying, if this tiny rebuildable copter is 70 percent as good as promised, it will do what Kerswell says it should: put a drone in the hands of anyone who wants one—and force competitors like Parrot, DJI, and GoPro to make their flying toys even niftier.
http://www.outsideonline.com/1993406/coolest-drone-yet-debuts-just-125
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Recon Jet eyewear provides instant data during exercise from a built-in GPS and motion tracker, plus wearable sensors and smartphones. Photo: Recon Instruments
Smart Shades Are About to Get a Whole Lot Better
Intel backs heads-up displays with its purchase of Recon Instruments. The likely winner of the deal? Oakley and other optics brands looking to pursue HUD technology.
By: Michael Frank Jun 19, 2015
Earlier this week, Intel bought Recon Instruments, which sells heads-up-display technology for goggles to companies like Oakley and Smith. It also makes the Jet, a pair of futuristic shades that sync with a phone to relay stats like heart rate and power.
The purchase (which rumors put around $175 million), takes a tiny tech startup and infuses it with the backing of billions of dollars in R&D. More importantly, it might improve HUDs to the point where people will actually wear them.
Intel has technology that could help push the Jet—which has hit multiple setbacks and only went on sale in May, 18 months after it debuted to the press—into the mainstream. This past January, Intel announced its plug-and-play “System on a Chip,” called the Curie module. This is is a circuit board specifically designed for wearables. It’s minuscule, about half the size of a pencil eraser, and it includes an accelerometer, gyroscope, and on-board memory, communicates via Bluetooth, and has specifically designed programming to improve battery life.
That last bit is key. Big battery packs are one of the biggest issues wearable makers face. Take the Jet, which is actually relatively easy to use and comfortable to wear, because the battery and camera sit on either side of your head, counter-balancing one another. But it’s still cumbersome compared to normal sunglasses and looks goofy, and would benefit from a smaller battery pack.
Shrinking this power source, and the hardware, has been Recon’s mission all along, and it happens to dovetail with Intel’s goal of being not just inside computers, but inside wearables, too. Curie lets Intel be that one-stop-shop solution for wearables startups and larger players.
So what does Intel get out of the deal?
The company wants to get its chips in wearables, and this seems like an easy way in. When Intel announced Curie, it also announced a partnership with Oakley and with Oakley’s parent company, Luxottica. Around the same time, Oakley said it would deliver its own wearables in the latter half of 2015.
Oakley already has Recon technology running in its goggles. Intel already has a stake in Recon. Ergo Recon is likely the brains behind the forthcoming Oakley product. We presume this is the first step toward more wearables from both Oakley and from other eyewear labels (like Ray-Ban and Michael Kors) under Luxottica.
While Recon’s strength is clearly in technology, it doesn’t have the style cred of an Oakley. In fact, if there’s one steady critique about HUD wearables, whether we're talking Jet or Google Glass, it’s that they’re ugly. This might be about to change dramatically.
Bottom line: this marriage lets Recon do what it does best while Intel cuts deals with other manufacturers that enable the wearable technology to get better and more usable.
http://www.outsideonline.com/1992351/intel-backs-heads-displays-purchase-recon-instruments
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