- Shiona McCullum
- Technology Correspondent
Image released, Snap
The Flying Camera is the latest product from Snapchat, the popular Snapchat photo sharing app.
The company described the small yellow plane, called the Pixie, as a “free-flying companion” that allows people to take selfies without using a selfie stick.
Compared to the United Kingdom, the new aircraft are available in France and the United States, which provide more rules for the use of drones.
This snap product comes at a time when many social media giants are developing hardware and technologies for augmented reality.
The Pixie Plain camera works on its own because it captures video clips during its flight and transmits them wirelessly to save them to the app.
At the end of the mission, the drone lands in the palm of your hand.
Although Snapchat does not receive the same level of attention as social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, it is still very popular and growing.
The company says that Snapchat has 300 million active users worldwide every day. The company says more than 75 percent of people between the ages of 13 and 34 in more than 20 countries follow it.
The next mania
The Snapchat app is known for providing augmented reality “lenses” on mobile phones that superimpose graphics and images on individual photos or distort the live image in various ways.
In 2016, Snape released the best-selling camera glasses called Snape Spectacles – which developed an augmented reality immersion experience (allowing you to see yourself in a live image as if it were actually real).
Snape CEO Evan Spiegel predicted that one day it would become as ubiquitous as cell phones – but the company lost about $ 40 million on the device in 2017 “primarily because it failed to sell devices made by the company.
The company has released an updated augmented reality version of the glasses, but it is not yet on sale.
The next smartphone boom
Despite all of the above, as drones are gaining increasing popularity among companies and the general public, the company has high hopes for the BixSby device.
“The use of drones is already widespread in the media, cinematography, surveys and testing,” Owen Jenkins, managing director of Nationwide Drones, told the BBC.
He added, “Drones can be expected to become popular in the community for personal use … If they are small, lightweight and slow, they are unlikely to cause harm or injury … I see no reason why they should not be the next leap in success in terms of the popularity and popularity of smartphones.
Image released, Snap
Jenkins has expressed some concerns that the Pixie does not have a direct control unit, but since the drone weighs just 101 grams and is fitted with propellers, it is unlikely to cause any damage if dropped or lost.
“Pixie is very low at 250 grams, which is the lowest by drone rules,” he said.
Snap says products like Pixy are “subject to local and federal laws about what’s flying, how and where to fly ‘” – and urge users to be aware of drone laws that apply to their countries and territories.
Will Harford, director of photography at Cloud Visual, says Snap users should be asked multiple choice questions before using Bixby for the first time, so users know about local laws.
“Unfortunately, this drone is too small to set up the equipment and technology needed to know where it should not fly, so it is up to the user to find the rules and follow them,” he told the BBC.
Although light drones are not subject to stricter controls than their heavy-duty counterparts, Harford points out that we still need to exercise “common sense” when using them.
“It’s a very bad idea to use at an airport, for example, it’s illegal to fly a drone regardless of its weight,” he added.
A spokesman for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: “Anyone using a drone must comply with the law for their use in the UK.”
He added, “Drones operating in follow-up mode are allowed as long as they are within 50 meters of the user … Most drone users must register with us as a drone operator and obtain a license voucher. Drone is classified as a game and will be excluded, but users will still need to comply with drone rules.
Image released, Getty Images
The launch of the Pixy Flying Camera comes as Metaverse opens its first store to showcase devices made by Facebook and other leading tech companies.
The meta store will open in Burlingham, California on May 9 and will showcase products such as Ray-Ban augmented reality glasses, portal smart camera and quest and beat saber games.
“The move is seen as an additional commitment to the company’s investment in virtual reality and metawares,” Metastore director Martin Gilliard said in a statement on the company’s website.
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