Nuked Skydio has built its next flying camera exclusively for the enterprise and military markets. The company is a self-flying drone startup.
Skydio CEO Adam Bry tells the verge he’s just getting started. There are more consumer drones on the way, he says.
The goal is n’t to try to beat DJI by copying DJI, but instead to build drones that can automatically do things which currently require an expert pilot to pull off.
‘being able to follow you is something an expert pilot can do,’ says expert pilot.’how do we put that in software so anyone can benefit from it?’.
A series of high-resolution images can be stitched together to create a scan of a house, bridge, or other facilities for inspection.
Bry says flying cameras could potentially make camera moves that are all but impossible for cinematographers on the ground. He says he sees opportunities for’technical skills’.
The new folding Skydio X2 or the consumer-grade Skydio 2 may be the way forward. Enterprise customers will be paying for a subscription service to these new skills rather than simply buying off-the-shelf drones.
Dji’s then-quickly-advancing, reliable, and relatively affordable line of drones are on the market. Dji’s then-quickly-advance and reliable line of drone drones got the edge out by DJI’s first-quickly-advancing.
Skydio is betting its made-in-the-USA pedigree will help it get contracts with enterprise and military customers that DJI ca n’t touch. In fact, the company already has contracts with the US Air Force, army, and DEA.
The company’s new’engagement and responsible use principles’ state that Skydio wo n’t put weapons on its drones and is opposed to fully automated weapons in general.
Skydio believes drones should be involved in emergency response situations, not active surveillance. Skydio plans to be involved as it can in policymaking around autonomous drones.
The company is working with at least one police department in Chula Vista, California. It’s not clear how it would know if its drones were being abused to surveil protesters or other citizens.
Bry wo n’t say how much the Skydio X2 will cost yet, or what we can expect from future consumer drones. The new 360-degree situational view is limited to an equirectangular projection on the new Skydio enterprise controller’s built-in screen or HDMI out.
