#HTE

What If Your Selfie Stick Could Float?

The Airselfie is a new take on a now familiar subject: the drone camera. Smaller and more self-oriented than ever, it aims to fit a controllable selfie drone in the same pocket as your smartphone and remove the *need for selfie sticks. After seeing how this thing flashed up on Kickstarter, you might even see one buzzing around local attractions as soon as this February. 

The Airselfie’s outside specs show an aluminum frame, weight of just 52 grams, and a body that measures 3.72 x 2.65 x 0.42 inches. Pretty smidgy. Inside is a 5mp camera, altitude sonar and stability cam, micro SD card, brushless motor, and small propeller guards. It comes with a power bank case that doubles as a phone case, which charges the drone when stored. Or you can recharge the drone directly via micro USB. 

To use the thing, you tether with your smartphone via its app (works with iOS and Android systems), then guide it into position before taking selfies or video… even on a timer mode. Wow! It also claims to work to a height or distance of 60 feet. 

While project videos show the tiny thing floating well enough, the handling and proof of concept seems sketchy to me. First of all, the whole idea is to do away with selfie sticks, but every example photo could have been more easily taken with a timer. Second, the ability to control pitch, height and static hovering aren’t convincingly shown, and those are the areas where drones have any advantage. 

Then… there’s the video.

"We’ve all been there, buddy.” Have we?

In all seriousness, was this project developed and pitched by an AI built by the International Brotherhood of the Popped Collar? The video seems like something from The Onion’s beat on reasons I hate all new San Francisco residents. Or am I just grouchy because the body design is way more boring than the Follow Me drone? 

*Ha hahaha haha ha.