An autonomous drone that can follow you and take your photos; sounds like a scene from a movie, right? Well, not anymore as this is what Silicon Valley startup, Skydio has developed and which will be available to the public in just a few weeks’ time.

The Intelligent Drone

The autonomous drone, which is known as the R1, has been developed with software that can recognize your face once it’s programmed into the software and can distinguish you from the surrounding area and even from other people. This has been made possible by advanced artificial intelligence technology that enables the drone to take and process images at lightning speed, enabling it to expertly navigate around obstacles independently. The use of cameras alone as a navigation tool is the first of its kind and is a deviation from the industry standard of using laser sensing technology.

The Fascination with Autonomous Drones

Skydio was formed Abraham Bachrach and Adam Bry, two former graduates from MIT who both worked as robotics engineers for Google. Bry has had a long fascination with autonomous drones and started working on them while still at MIT. His first autonomous drone, which he developed before autonomous drones were available in the market, was the basis of the development of Skydio.

The R1 is armed with 13 cameras that face in all directions, giving it the ability to avoid obstacles in all directions. It also has the Nvidia Jetson AI supercomputer on board which processes the images taken by the cameras and gives the drone the ability to avoid the obstacles, all the while keeping an eye on you and following you around. It can accelerate to match your speed when you run or if you are cycling and slow down when you do. It even has the ability to assess the route ahead, assess the obstacles and map out a possible route for you to follow.

Easy to Use Photography Tool

Skydio is marketing the R1 as a photography tool which makes the drone experience much easier and stress-free. All one has to do is put the drone down and launch it on a smartphone app and it’s airborne. After it launches, one doesn’t have to control it! The drone will then begin following you around and take photos and videos of you. This will be a very handy tool especially for people who engage in activities that are very hands-on such as mountain climbing, cycling and hiking.