Zero Zero Robotics' Hover Camera is now called the Hover Camera Passport.
After securing over $25 million in funding, Zero Zero Robotics has finally released its foldable camera quadcopter — the first in a series of cameras with a carbon fiber housing. The carbon fiber makes the drone light enough to be exempt from FAA registration and prevents the four propellers from injuring anyone.
The package includes two batteries, for up to 10 minutes of flight time each – two minutes more than the original. The company had originally planned to release the device with four batteries for up to 30 minutes of flight time, but it seems they were unable to make it happen.
Otherwise, the Hover Camera Passport is largely the same as the camera that came out in April. It's still controlled by an iPhone 5S (or later) running iOS 8 or later, or an Android phone running Android 4.4 or later, via an app, and the various control systems are still much easier to understand and operate.
The Hover Camera Passport can fly at speeds up to 17 miles per hour, climbs up to 16 feet, and has a range of up to 66 feet. The hardware looks great, especially its foldable design, but what about its ability to follow you and take videos and photos using advanced computer technology?
The camera has facial recognition that takes photos as soon as it detects your face.
The Hover Camera Passport is also not good at following you up stairs, while reflective surfaces like window glass seem to confuse and disorient the device.
The camera already has competitors like the Mavic Pro, but competition means all these camera-carrying drones are only going to get better and better.
