The Falcon is the world’s first two-motor camera drone, and the first commercial tilt-rotor bi-copter. It was announced on January 17, 2020, and will begin shipping in February 2020. The feature-packed (thousand-dollar) drone is being ‘pre-sale’ reserved for a hundred dollars.
Using a unique bird-like design, the new Zero Zero Robotics bi-copter uses articulating arms and motor-propeller combinations to provide quad-copter performance, while providing an unprecedented fifty minute endurance (flight) time, from a single 4500mAh LiPro battery.
The tilt-rotor control allows the superior performance of a race drone, while a 4 K camera mounted on a three-axis gimbal provides the quality of a camera drone. Is this the big daddy of all cine-whoops? The big daddy of all camera drones? The company is offering refundable pre-purchase of the thousand dollar drone, which plans to start shipping in a couple weeks (February, 2020, to be more precise).
The 1/2.3″ CMOS camera allows 4K video at 30fps (frames per second). An improved visual tracking algorithm allow subject following, without use of a beacon. Pre-programmed flight modes (like dronie, rocket, helix, etc.) make aerial cinematography easy.
The drone offers obstacle avoidance through use of a front-facing stereo camera (two cameras collimated) and VIO (Visual Inertial Odometery*).
The pair of articulating propellers provide a different way to control an aircraft: yaw is controlled by tilting its rotors in opposite directions. Roll is controlled through differential (opposing) power or thrust. Pitch is provided through engine tilt. Vertical motion is controlled with conventional rotor blade pitch. The engine nacelles are controlled by servo motors and drive/reduction gears
The folding drone is roughly 8x5x2 inches, or around the size of a DJI Mavic Pro 2. While the Mavic Pro 2 looks admittedly cool, this drone may look even cooler (a non-technical, non-quantifiable term, but one I personally endorse, in this case). At just over a pound and a half, it is definitely a portable drone, just not a mini or micro or nano.
The (available) specifications are:
- Folded Dimensions：220.6 X 148.26 X 72.38 mm (length × width × height)
- Weight：730 g
- Max Hovering Time：Up to 50 min
- Max Wind Scale Resistance：Grade 5
- Operating Temperature：0 ℃ – 40 ℃
- Operating Frequency：2.4 GHz
- GNSS：GPS + GLONASS
- Internal Storage: 8 GB Max Capacity of External microSD Card: 256 GB
I will leave some of my normal specifications parameters blank, until I can find out from their Tech Support, or from the media releases, as it becomes available.
MFR: ShenZen Zero Zero Infinity Technology Company***
Type: Tilt-rotor bi-copter, MAME (Medium-Altitude, Medium Endurance).
Frame: V-strut center fuselage with two articulating struts and motor-propellers
Length 220.6 mm (8.68 in)
Width 148.26 mm (5.83 in)
Height 72.38 mm (2.85 in)
Weight: 730 grams (25.75 oz/1.6 lb)
Propulsion: Articulating ECM/Brushless motor, (x)KV, X-bladed propeller (x”)
Max Speed: undefined
Specifications mention Grade 5 wind resistance. In Beaufort’s Wind Scale, grade 5 is a fresh breeze with a speed of 17-21 knots. That’s 31-38 Km/h or 19-24 mph, so the aircraft has that capability, just to hover. DJI Mavic 2 Pro has a Grade 5 wind resistance, and a top speed of 65 kph (40 mph/34.75 kt/17.88 meters per second).
Obstacle Avoidance Speed: 7 m/s (25.2 kph, 15.66 mph, 13.6 kt)
Range 7km (4.34 mi/3.78 nmi)
Endurance 70 minutes, 50 minutes hover (battery time 2.5 hours)
Service Ceiling:
Sensors CMOS 4K video camera, 2x forward-facing navigation cameras
Gimbal 3-axis, 0-90 degree pitch
Camera 1/2.3″ CMOS, 12 MP, 77 degree FOV, 28 mm, F 2.2. 4K @ 30 fps, 2.7K @ 30, 60 fps, 1080 @ 30, 60 120 fps JPEG, RAW or JPEG/RAW photo, MP4 video
Radio Link 2.8 Ghz, FCC Part 15 Direct-Sequence Spread-Spectrum (DSSS)
Controller: ZR-100 B Blast Off (copy of FCC Part 15 Test Report at: https://fccid.io/document.php?id=4454794 )
Temperature: 0-40 degrees Celsius (32-104 degrees Fahrenheit)
Memory: 8 GB on-board, up to 256 GB SIM
Payload No visible payload attachments (no specification available)
The kit (999 USD) comes with a drone and BlastOff controller, a single battery (which lasts 2.5 hours!), a charger, charging cable, USB 3.0 cable, spare (single) set of propellers, gimbal cover, screwdriver, and carrying case
I have to tell you, I thought the same thing I thought when I first saw the SkyDio 2…”man, that blows all the other drones away,” and “man, I just gotta fly one of those.” The next thing I thought was also what I thought when I saw the SkyDio 2: “can I buy stock in this company?”
I’ll write more when I find out more specifics on this ground-breaking (or should I say sky-breaking?) little Falcon, and when I can get my pilot paws on one**, so stay tuned.
* Odometry is (according to Wikipedia) “use of data from motion sensors to estimate change in position over time. It is used in robotics by some legged or wheeled robots to estimate their position relative to a starting location. This method is sensitive to errors due to the integration of velocity measurements over time to give position estimates. Rapid and accurate data collection, instrument calibration, and processing are required in most cases for odometry to be used effectively”.
** Although the Falcon will start shipping in February 2020, there is no indication how much wait time is required if I order now.
*** ShenZen Balun Company also makes the innovative Hover Passport drone
P.S. Of course, not all (pre-flight) reviews from the CES (Consumer Electronics Exposition) were positive:
Here’s a demonstration video of the drone flying indoors…
A Brave New Drone World 