Lily camera drone that flies by itself

[Mikado]

Check out this video for the new Lily camera drone. The unique feature is that you don't have to fly it.......just tell it to follow, lead, or circle. It takes HD still, video and will even switch to slow motion. I think this will open up amazing opportunities for overhead shots of your boat under sail which previously were only possible by helicopter. It has a 25 minute battery life. It doesn't have collision avoidance so finding the right place on deck to stand for it to land without getting caught up in rigging will probably be a challenge. I purchased one recently and should receive delivery next Feb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vGcH0Bk3hg

[lifgun]

I did the same - looks really awesome......looking forward to receive mine :-)

[autumnbreeze27]

Hope it ships and lives up to your expectations. I saw a review from a guy with the prototype, and most of it was vaporware. It almost took the guys head off, and the designer had to fly it with a remote because the follow,etc wasn't working yet.

I tried googling it but couldn't find it, so maybe they paid to have it removed from the interwebs. Sounds like the facebook winkle bro's put some money into the company, so we'll see what happens.

[chris in SG]

I paid in advance too, and then wondered if I'd been really stupid. I've certainly never previously paid for a product that's still under development, for delivery in 6 months time.

Was I seduced by a slick video? Perhaps a combination of youtube and Yachting World which reviewed 'Lily' and a select few other drones suitable for sailors. Rightly or wrongly, I didn't think YW would include a prototype in their regular review of new products - but they did anyway..

Fingers crossed!

[Mikado]

Chris and Lifgun,

Are you planning on using your Lily primarily to film your sailing adventures or do you have a commercial plan? I think advertising at marinas to film someone's power or sailboat while cruising could be a money maker.

[autumnbreeze27]

Originally Posted by Mikado

Chris and Lifgun,

Are you planning on using your Lily primarily to film your sailing adventures or do you have a commercial plan? I think advertising at marinas to film someone's power or sailboat while cruising could be a money maker.

I bought a Phantom drone to use commercially, but in the USA it's illegal to use drones commercially without jumping through a lot of hoops. Some people still do it, but I returned mine when I found that out. Didn't seem worth it to make a few bucks and then suddenly you have a $10,000 fine from the FAA.

[Mikado]

As with most new technology, when the government gets involved in any regulatory capacity it's usually a total cluster for a while. I think there are two main issues that they are trying to address....privacy and safety. The current guidelines for commercial use are no flights over 500 ft and no invading someone's privacy. I think you are pretty safe right now using it to video for hire someone's boat, but time will tell how far and what direction the government will go in regulating drones. One thing for sure, the technology is only getting better, smaller, cheaper, etc.

Jeff

[lifgun]

Mikado

I'll use it for filming during sailing - no plans for commercial use. Anyway I'm curious how to catch this thing on a boat....looks like I need to train MOB maneuvers.....

[sailcrux]

I have many years of "drone" filming experience, and my take on the lily is you will quickly get bored with it. I do like that it's waterproof out of the box, I've had to waterproof other quad/hex/octo copters in the past and its a PITA. And everyone loves that aerial point of view, but with little control over framing (100ft max) and angle (camera angle looks fixed) it really limits your creativity if you are in it for the footage. If you aren't in it for the footage, well, not like you are going to have a lot of fun flying it.

As for the laws, they are evolving more rapidly now so check your local regs, but until recently the rule against commercial drone flights was worded against the operator, not the vehicle. In other words, no laws against a drone filming a car commercial but I couldnt charge the car company for my piloting of the copter... The production companies would rent our copters, piloting was free, this had been fine for years until all these yahoos starting flying drones over nuclear power plants, government buildings, and airports... morons.

[Mikado]

Landing while sailing is my concern too. I have a ketch so double the collision hazards, but if it hones in on the person with the puck like the video shows I'm sure we will find a safe spot to land it. Maybe we will deploy the dinghy and the landing zone :-)

I talked to their marketing folks recently and they confirmed they are still on trackfor February shipping and that the current version exceeds their expectations for their first release. They are working on two new features, probably for the next model which are collision avoidance and change out batteries.

[PuttingDoctor]

I'm still waiting on a crowd funded bit of kit from Australia.... ship date gets pushed back, and pushed back.

Lily looks interesting and the waterproof bit is still just showing fresh water exposure. Wonder what a salt water bath will do? I've been looking at Solo http://3drobotics.com and discussing functionality with the developer.

I think mounting hi res cameras on masthead and spreaders may be the way to go. I'm looking for the opportunity to shoot other boats as I cruise not shoot my own boat, that would be boring quick.

I made a living in the late 80's shooting air to air editorial photos and think in my retirement I may offset some of the monthly expenses with a little photo / video work for those I meet.

The current UAV cluster regarding regulations is less than settled. Many local and state governments are moving forward with legislation which they have no jurisdiction over. The FAA will miss the next deadline imposed by congress regarding UAV regulations it seems.

As an FAA certificated pilot I can apply for commercial approval but am not really interested as my work will likely be "down in the islands."

The biggest issue I see at present with the better POV cameras of the GoPro variety is that the lenses are too wide in view angle and it will take some adaptation to make them what I feel I need to be able to do video. High res photos are easy to crop but video is going to take more effort.

I shot this with a GoPro knockoff mounted on the bow pulpit. Let it load to sharpen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBU2sKD1IwU

A quick edit with my SONY editing suite results in a fun bit of exposure.

[sailcrux]

Yeah, at the hobby level there isnt much choice for camera control. A work around is to use a gopro that can shoot in 4k and then you can do some zoom/panning in post and still output full HD. On the Mac I use final cut pro, and on PC I've used Adobe premiere... both of them can handle 4k video and let you zoom in and output HD or Full HD without needing any specialized post production software like after effects.

[HopCar]

I have started selling the Splash Drone in my store.
Splash Drone Waterproof Quadcopter | Urban Drones


I haven't had a chance to play with it but one of my employees bought one and he loves it. It has a lot more capabilities than the Lilly and is available now. It is more expensive and the price doesn't include the GoPro camera.

The guys who bought them from me are hard core fishermen. They'll use them to video themselves fighting fish.

One neat feature of the Splash drone is that it comes with a cargo hook. It will carry items up to two pounds and will drop them on command. My thoughts went right to water balloons but I bet you guys can think of other uses.

The Splash Drone is very complete with a FPV screen with sun shade, battery, charger and very nice carry case.

Everyone who has bought one has also purchased a second battery. If they want to fly longer than 20 minutes, they can swap batteries without waiting for an internal battery to charge.

The Auto version has a "follow me" mode similar to the Lilly. It follows your cell phone.

I don't have them on my website yet, but if you're interested in one give me a call or send me an email through my website. A CF message will work also.

[Alec H]

Remember, the Lily is blind; it sees only the puck. So while "landing" on deck will require some care, you will have to monitor the movement of any other vessels in your area and be prepared to recall your Lily before it hits another boat.

[jreiter190]

Tell it to land in the dinghy and tell it to pump it up a few strokes while it's at it.