DJI is one of the biggest companies in the drone market and it intends to keep it that way. The company regularly releases new products to further cement its position in the market, it has even set up some beautiful retail spaces to sell its products. Today it has announced the launch of the new Phantom 4, it’s DJI’s smartest drone yet.
Phantom 4 is the closest thing to a self-aware consumer drone that you can get your hands on right now. It’s capable of autonomously flying and navigating obstacles and even tracking users. That’s what makes it so crash-proof because even if you want to crash it into a wall you just can’t.
There are two cameras on the front of this drone, two on the back and one main 4K camera for capturing onboard video. Images captured by these cameras go through the Phantom 4’s computer vision software which makes a 3D model of the world around the drone so that it can intelligently navigate any obstacles.
It’s possible to turn off the crash avoidance feature but unless you’re a pro at flying quadcopters you might want this feature on at all times given that the Phantom 4 isn’t really cheap. DJI has introduced a new feature called TapFly that enables beginners to ditch the two-stick controller and just tap on the live video feed to control the drone.
ActiveTrack is an autonomous feature onboard the Phantom 4. You just need to trace a circle around something that you want to keep in the frame at all times. It can be you on a bike or a car doing donuts, the onboard computer will build a 3D model of that object and automatically track it so that it’s always in the frame.
With its impressive suite of features, you can be sure that the DJI Phantom 4 is anything but cheap. The Phantom 4 is available for pre-order today and it’s priced at $1,400, that’s $150 more than the launch price of its predecessor the Phantom 3. DJI clearly thinks the upgrades are worth the extra money.