China’s most popular consumer electronics maker Xiami has announced its first drone named “MI” , pricing it significantly lower than a comparable model by the market leader DJI.
Xiaomi’s Mi Drone is a quadcopter with a three-axis gimbal, 4K camera, and a remote control that uses your Mi smartphone as its viewfinder.
The 4K version retails at around $460, while the 1080p model is priced at around $380. Typically, 4K-camera drones from DJI and Yuneec retail for more than $1,000.
Apart from the lower price, the another advantage of the Mi Drone is the modularity— the camera module is detachable. This new drone has a 5,100mAh battery, which is also easily replaceable, and Xiaomi claims the unit can get 27 minutes of non-stop flight time on a single charge, which is at the high end of what most consumer quadcopters offer.
The Modular & foldable design makes Mi Drone portable and convenient to carry around.
The 1080p as well as 4K versions offer up to 104 degree wide-angle lens.
The Mi Drone uses both GPS and GLONASS for positioning, and has a visual positioning system on the bottom that allows it to remain stable while flying at low altitudes in environments where it cannot get a satellite signal.
One of the highlights of the Mi Drone is it returns back to the user automatically if disconnected from the remote. Users can trace and monitor the battery of Mi Drone from the attached phone screen of the remote. In case of low battery in Mi Drone, there is warning alarm on the phone screen.
The Mi Drone can hover automatically at the edge of no-fly zones. The remote control comes with built-in PCB antenna array for maximum reach. The PCB antenna amplifies the signal of the Mi Drone and it can be controlled up to 2 kilometres.
The Mi Drone also comes with Autopilot option that allows it for automatic take-off and landing, waypoint flight path planning, tap to fly on map, circle an object on the ground.
