Ring is making a new product. A camera drone..

[svenmarbles]

Amazon's new Ring camera is actually a flying drone -- for inside your home

Ring announces the $250 Always Home Cam indoor drone and plans for end-to-end encryption.

www.google.com

This seems like a pretty interesting idea. I’m a little skeptical about how well this would work. As drone hobbyists, we sort of know where the cutting edge exists with obstacle detection, avoidance, etc. Is Ring working closely with DJI or Autel in order to get this thing right? It comes back and lands precisely into that little base? It just seems a little bit hard to believe that the makers of Ring doorbells are out droning the drone makers..

 

[svenmarbles]

Also, as for navigation, assuming you can get a GPS signal indoors, it’s only accurate to about a meter. That’s too big of a margin if we’re talking about indoor doorways, walls, etc.

Ok so some sort of optical downward looking setup, similar to how optical flow works for many drones. It can recognize patterns and lock on. Perhaps it can be engineered further to have a “path memory” and be able to navigate that way. But then, as anyone who has tried to fly a Drone indoors that utilizes Optical Flow, it needs quite good light in order to work. Most indoor spaces, even when “lit” by indoor standards is inadequate.

 

[Electromen]

The future of security camera systems will incorporate Docked Drones, inside & out. I install security cameras and recently read an article about permanently Docked Autonomous Drones outside. When other cameras or motion sensors detect motion, the Autonomous Drone would fly to that location and start recording and also send a live feed that would be available on phone, tablets and computers.

 

[rangemaster728]

Flying cat toy!!

 

[Tufargon]

Ok, if I break into a house and an appliance starts flying around following me I am GTFO of there LOL.

 

[JimWest]

I was flying in Pennsylvania on Friday and a woman stopped by to ask about drones--said she'd heard they are bringing out a security drone to fly around inside your house. I (politely) assured her that that was ridiculous. I'm sure she's now talking about that drone operator who didn't know anything...

 

[rstcso]

One of the articles I read said "When you first get the device, you build a map of your home for it to follow...". Sounds like similar technology currently used by robotic vacuums, such as Roomba, but with a vertical component.

Suggested possible uses are confirming devices such as the coffee pot or stove are turned off, a door is locked, etc. Also can be programmed to investigate motion detection within your Ring ecosystem. I'll most likely buy one just because I have several Ring cameras and it might be fun... until the novelty wears off.

 

[Brockrock]

The future of security camera systems will incorporate Docked Drones, inside & out.

This will get interesting from a regulatory standpoint. Technically, such a use of a UAV in the outside environment would not fall under 'purely Recreational' use, and thus would require the owner to have a Part 107 rating. Also, there are VLOS issues if these things are flying around your property while you're on vacation or at work. I do think this use of a UAV is inevitable however, so that speaks to eventual changes in the current Regulations for sure.

 

[svenmarbles]

This will get interesting from a regulatory standpoint. Technically, such a use of a UAV in the outside environment would not fall under 'purely Recreational' use, and thus would require the owner to have a Part 107 rating. Also, there are VLOS issues if these things are flying around your property while you're on vacation or at work. I do think this use of a UAV is inevitable however, so that speaks to eventual changes in the current Regulations for sure.

This is a good point. As much as we’re worried about getting legislated out of our hobby by other big business’ desire to own the skies, there may be another side of that spectrum that could work in our favor. Industry that desires to utilize drone tech in a way that is currently hung up in regulations like these could work in our FAVOR, by pressuring to relax certain things.

 

[rstcso]

My understanding is this drone is for indoor use only, so not subject to airspace regulations.