Aircraft Will Avoid Obstacles Autonomously

When the price of the DJI Phantom 3 aircraft was cut last month, the Internet was buzzing with speculation about a new quadcopter from the manufacturer.

The did not disappoint, and on March 1 unveiled the DJI Phantom 4, which the company says can autonomously avoid obstacles in flight.

According to the company, the Phantom 4 has twin front-facing optical sensors that send a constant stream of information to the central processor in the aircraft so that if it gets too close to an obstacle, it stops. If it sees a way to go over or around the object, it will.

Through the FPV interface, the Phantom 4 can be flown without using the control sticks. The operator can tap the screen where it wants the aircraft to go, and it will fly there, using the obstacle-avoidance feature to arrive safely.

The Phantom 4 also will track a subject, such as a cyclist or snowboarder, automatically, and does not require the subject to wear additional tracking hardware. The operator can then use the remote controller to adjust distance, angle, altitude, or shoot a moving point of interest.

The Phantom 4 camera features a redesigned 8 element aspherical lens further reduces fisheye distortion, minimizes chromatic aberration and enhances corner sharpness. Record video at super crisp 4K at 30fps and 1080p at 120fps, and capture 12 megapixel and Adobe DNG RAW compatible stills for a professional look.

And the aircraft will fly up to 28 minutes on a single charge, according to the company.

The price for the DJI Phantom 4 is $1399, which includes free shipping.

(Images provided by DJI)

FMI: www.dji.com