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AirDog will let users film fast moving action from high above by remote control.
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AirDog is the world’s first autonomous personal action sports drone. It is a small, agile, foldable quadcopter, especially designed for shooting video of action sports with the GoPro camera. It automatically follows you by tracking your position, using a gyro-stabilized gimbal to make sure that your aerial videos are super stable and smooth.
Takeoff and landing are completely autonomous, freeing the user to focus on performance. It will land at the end of the track, or return to the takeoff spot when the battery begins to run low. An alarm tells the user when AirDog’s battery is too low to continue.
It works with the AirLeash, a small, waterproof, computerized wrist remote tracker, with software and sensors inside that connect to AirDog using long range Bluetooth. AirLeash gives AirDog your exact location by using a data fusion from different sensors. The device can be attached to a helmet, surfboard, wrist, or be placed in a backpack.
AirDog has a flight time of up to 15 minutes. It flies at 40-45 mph and can keep up with even the fastest of action sports. It utilizes Interchangeable 14.8 V, 4000mAh, LiPo batteries, is wind resistant up to 28 knots (14 m/s), has a range of up to 1000 feet (300m), and an operational ceiling of 9800 feet (3000m). It weighs only 3.08 lbs (1.4 kg), 3.96 lbs (1.8 kg) with battery
The free Airdog App allows users to configure advanced flight modes and record tracks and laps. It is available for both iPhone and Android smartphones.
The company uses 3D printing technology, developed by the Israeli-American Company Stratasys. Stratasys is currently developing a way to use its 3D technology for blood recycling during surgeries. Hemosep is a machine that can recover blood lost during operations. This is known as auto transfusion, a process which recycles a patient’s blood quickly back into his body, reducing the need for traditional blood transfusions. It would also cut down on the cost of surgery.
AirDog’s manufacturer Helico Aerospace Industries is currently engaged in a crowdfunding campaign which began on June 16 and will run thru July 25 on Kickstarter.com. Their goal was only $200, 000, but they have already raised $689, 437 from 751 different investors.
Investments start at $10. For a $995 investment, a backer will receive an AirDog. For $2, 045 or more, an investor will get two full AirDog kits.
Edgars Rozentals, CEO and founder of Helico Aerospace Industries, said in a press release about the campaign: “After the first few days of our kickstarter.com campaign, we realized just how much potential this product has. It really hit home when, in just three days, we exceeded the campaign’s initial goal of $200, 000! Two weeks later, we have preorders for over 500 drones. Apparently, there’s a demand for AirDog. Our innovation has gained trust. Now, with this level of anticipation, we’re extremely motivated to continue our work, and to deliver AirDog drones to their new owners before Christmas 2014.”
They expect the device’s retail price to be $1, 500 when it is available for sale come November.
Helico Aerospace Industries is based in Wilmington, Delaware, and was founded in 2012 by Edgars Rozentals, of Latvia. It currently employs ten people.
Rozentals and the Helico team are innovators in unmanned aerial systems. They have experience in creating industrial applications for the civil use of drone technology. Helico’s project list includes airframe technology, integrated onboard computers, operating systems, and cloud computing infrastructure for unmanned
systems.
