Skydio R1: A Virtually Crash-Free Drone

Flying a drone through a tight forest is not something even an experienced pilot would willingly do. The Skydio R1 makes it shockingly simple, and you don't even need to be a drone pilot.

The team from CNET is giving this $2,500 drone a try to see if it actually can fly through any obstacle. There's one peculiarity though: it can only follow you. Basically, it's a selfie drone that is way smarter than you might think. It is like an autonomous car. While flying, it is constantly analyzing the environment through its 13 cameras and can follow you almost anywhere. As you can see from the video, the main camera doesn't have great dynamic range and there are cases when obstacles can fool the drone, but in the majority of situations, its artificial intelligence and performance will blow you away.

The Skydio R1 is not the filmmaker's dream yet, but it can make amazing footage of a mountain biker in places drone pilots wouldn't dare to fly at high speeds. This machine is going to challenge all of the existing drone companies to be able to catch up with the trend Skydio R1 starts: a virtually crash-free drone.

What do you think is the future of this technology? Can we as filmmakers benefit from it?

Tihomir Lazarov's picture

Tihomir Lazarov is a commercial portrait photographer and filmmaker based in Sofia, Bulgaria. He is the best photographer and filmmaker in his house, and thinks the best tool of a visual artist is not in their gear bag but between their ears.

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5 Comments

Light stand!

Not sure starting with such a failed Lily project is the right way to go to advertise for a drone. Lily is something to be put away forever..
Also, be very cautious if you want it to land on your hand. The propellers are not in any kind of enclosure. This look nice on video, but clearly can result on a lot of damage for your fingers.

Overall, this new tech is the way to go!

Saw footage of this drone loosing control and causing a car accident. Intense...

There are accidents caused by all kinds of drones too because of the same reasons. All of the drones are very "smart" and they take too much control for safety's sake and thus becoming unsafe. I'm talking about all kinds of drones, not just this one. You can name many other cases such as self-driving cars causing accidents, etc.