Aircraft Is Built Around The Skydio Autonomy Engine

Drone manufacture Skydio has announced its new drone, Skydio 2.

According to the company, the Skydio 2 combines groundbreaking artificial intelligence with a best-in-class 4k60HDR camera, 1.9 nautical miles of wireless range, and 23 minutes of flight time in a drone that fits anywhere you can carry a 13” laptop. For experienced pilots, Skydio 2 makes every aspect of flying drones more creative, more fun, more useful, and less stressful. But it’s also capable of flying itself with the skills of an expert pilot, opening up the power and magic of aerial capture to new audiences.

Skydio 2 is built around the Skydio Autonomy Engine - the most advanced flying artificial intelligence system in the world. It sees in every direction with six 4K cameras, maps and understands the world around it, predicts into the future, and makes intelligent decisions that let it smoothly fly around obstacles while capturing amazing videos and photos. All this intelligence has a profound effect on what it’s like to fly Skydio 2 and what it can do for you.

With its category-defining autonomous person and car tracking, Skydio 2 enables you to capture everything from a backyard pickup game to a downhill adventure with a single tap. It builds on Skydio R1’s foundation and takes it to the next level, with tracking speeds up to 36 miles per hour, and a new planning algorithm focused on cinematic capture. It delivers stunning, dynamic footage that must be seen to be believed.

Our mobile app is designed to be more like a camera app than a cockpit, which means if you can use the camera on your phone you can fly Skydio 2. The optional Controller delivers a unique flying experience by combining the precision of joysticks with 360 degree, high-speed, trustworthy obstacle avoidance that enables you to punch through narrow gaps - forwards, backwards, or sideways - or skim a surface, with no fear. It extends wireless range up to 1.9 nautical miles, which allows shots to be captured from arm’s length to all the way down range.

And for the ultimate action-oriented experience we’re introducing Skydio Beacon. Skydio Beacon enables Skydio 2 to track you even if it can’t see you by augmenting visual tracking with GPS. With Beacon’s wand feature, you can control Skydio 2 by simply pointing where you want it to go. You can also access cinematic skills like Dronie or Rocket without taking your focus away from your activity.

Skydio 2 is the result of over a decade of R&D by a world class team that spans AI, robotics, cameras, and electric vehicles. It’s designed and manufactured at our headquarters in Redwood City, California and it’s backed by a simple promise: if you’re flying Skydio 2 within our safe operating guidelines and it crashes, we’ll repair or replace it. For any issue, big or small, our customer support team works down the hall from the engineering team and we are here to help.

Skydio 2 is available for $999. Shipments are expected to start in November with limited supply for 2019. You can reserve your spot in line by placing a $100 reservation at skydio.com. We can’t wait to see what you do with Skydio 2.

(Image provided with Skydio news release)

FMI: www.skydio.com