UPDATE: The Gobe Drone Could Be an Advanced UAV for Beginners—If It’s Real
Gobe Robotics wants to lure first-time users into the world of drones with the Gobe drone.
UPDATE (Aug. 1, 5:25 p.m. EST):
According to DroningOn, the Gobe Robotics company has failed to deliver its product to backers of its campaign and doesn't even provide contact information or any substantial history of the company or its employees. Hence, this Kickstarter could easily vanish into thin air, with people's money along with it. Be warned.
The Gobe drone is aimed at beginners who may be looking for an easy way to familiarize themselves with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It's compact, lightweight, and designed with easy user experience in mind. Gobe Robotics founder Spaniard Manu wants to bring advanced, high-end drones in the hands of first-time users, in order to afford them all the perks that professionals enjoy without the fear of getting overwhelmed. The company is currently asking for funding on IndieGoGo, with about $40,000 left to acquire with a month left to go. Let's take a look at this thing before we get into the technical details, shall we?
According to TechMalak, this Transformers-looking quadcopter has a flight time of up to 28 minutes. Now, for more advanced users who either use their drones to record their outdoor activities or perhaps even to tow their surfboards across the ocean, that won't cut it. But for beginners who've never felt the joy of zipping through the skies with ease, that's more than adequate. The Gobe has high kV motors but no three-axis gimbal. This'll definitely affect the stability of video footage (which this nifty UAV can do at 4K resolution), but thankfully there's a digital auto-stabilization integrated into the drone's camera. The really interesting feature of this entry-level UAV is that part of the package is a set of VR goggles.
Now, we're all aware of drone-racing and how absolutely enthralling and cathartic it is to fly through the heavens through a first-person view (FPV) set. Usually, entry-level drones don't include a feature as high-end as that, so it's pretty spectacular of Gobe to make it a point to provide that kind of experience to first-time users. According to TechMalak, in addition to letting Gobe owners see through the drone's eyes while flying, the company implemented anti-collision sensors in this design. That'll be hugely helpful, as the whole point of this UAV is making things as smooth as possible for beginners - and crashing is definitely not uncommon. Let's get into some of the more specific features, shall we?
According to TechMalak, the Gobe drone features the following specs:
- "Smart flight battery
- 4K camera incorporated with auto-stabilization (Ultra-smooth videos)
- Auto-follow mode
- Different flight modes
- Headless mode (solving ‘’lost orientation’’ problem)
- Automatic take off and Landing
- Return Home
- 28 Flight Minutes (the champ of its category)
- GPS
- Anti-Collision sensor
- Surrounded flight (Select an object and fly around in a circle taking footage from different angles)
- VR Goggles connection
- Face Recognition System"
Not too shabby, right? In case you prefer a more visual explanation of this drone and its features, feel free to take a look at the official Gobe Robotics promo video below. It basically covers most of the information above, but with a cheerier voice and some actual footage taken by the Gobe. Check it out.
We'll be sure to keep our ears tuned to this campaign as it continues. We're hoping to see this project take off, get funded, and produce the UAV presented above. There's a vast community of people out there that actually really like the idea of owning a drone, but shy away from committing to purchasing one due to some of the technical savvy required to operate one. Hopefully, Gobe can break into that market and expand the drone community even more than it already has.
