Drones

Nixie quadcopter concept aims to take selfies to the next level

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Nixie is a wearable drone designed for autonomous seflies
Nixie is a wearable drone designed for autonomous seflies
The Nixie drone in its prototype form
The quadcopter is designed to fold around the user's wrist when not in use
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Nixie is a camera-equipped quadcopter designed to follow the user around taking pictures and videos on command, while conveniently wrapping around the wrist to form a bracelet when not in use.

The selfie is officially an international phenomenon. With some companies boasting about how their smartphones pack "perfect for selfie" front-facing shooters, and others going as far as releasing bizarre cameras designed specifically for the purpose – whether you like it or not, it’s here to stay.

Enter Nixie, the tiny quadcopter that aims to evolve the concept by taking the camera out of your hands and into the air. The idea is fairly straightforward – take a tiny drone, fit it with a swiveling camera and have it follow the user around capturing photos or video. In that way, it's quite similar to the proposed MeCam drone. What makes it more interesting (and a little whacky) is the ability to fold the quadcopter's limbs to turn into a wearable bracelet.

The Nixie drone in its prototype form

At present, Nixie is still a concept, with the company yet to produce a fully working version (you can see it in prototype form above). The product is one of 10 finalists in Intel’s Make it Wearable (MIW) challenge, the winner of which will receive US$500,000 to help turn their concept into a reality.

If it comes to fruition, then the final product will pair with a smartphone app, taking off on command, hovering a little way away to put the user in the frame before snapping a photo or video. Flight will be fully automatic, without the need for manual input, and the drone will return to the user when finished.

With the Nixie drone still being a concept, details such as battery life and specs are yet to be confirmed, but we do know that users will be able to switch it into a specific mode for selfies, panoramas or continuous movies.

Check out the video below for more on the wearable drone.

Source: Nixie

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5 comments
BigGoofyGuy
I think that is really neat. I am not sure James Bond would use since it looks a little on the geeky / nerdy side but it might be something Q would come up with (or something similar to it).
Schuyler19
I was skeptical at first, but when looking over it, it can do much more. GoPro should take a hint for flying. but who would wear that?!
ezeflyer
Amazing. But how do you control it?
wle
so a breeze sends 4 propellers into your eye..? hm wle
Stradric
I like the concept and their ambition. I don't see this making it to market for at least 5 years given the incredible difficulty that such a thing would entail.
My guess is that they will be acquired by Amazon or something before they actually have a product to sell.