14 DAY TRIAL // Drones are a fascinating topic to discuss – some people view them as evil devices whose whole purpose is to spy, others believe they are great equipment to get creative with.
But drones aren’t exactly the cheapest devices out there. On top of that, some models aren't that portable so you might have some trouble carrying them around wherever you need to go.
Anura is as tiny as a drone gets
Well, these are the problems the Anura drone wants to help solve. The creators of the quad-copter have managed to shrink it to the point that it can fit into your pocket. Naturally, you’ll need to fold up the device after you are done using it for it to be able to snuggle into your piece of clothing.
As you can see in the image above, its size is quite comparable to the iPhone 6, but its thickness is that of a few smartphones lying on top of each other.
Anura is compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones. Once the two devices are connected, the handset can act like a live view screen for the camera, so users get to view what the camera is viewing, as well as a remote control for the quad-copter.
The onboard camera won’t blow your mind, as it is only capable of capturing video at 340 x 288 resolution. But the biggest problem is the embedded battery which can only sustain a meager 12 to 16 minutes of flight time. But surely, you can’t expect a video beast at this tiny, compact size.
Anura could ship out this April
Anura is currently a project gathering funds up on Kickstarter, but the startup already managed to raise over 80% of the set goal, and at the time of writing this article, there are still 51 days to go.
In the current stage, you can pre-order your own pocket-size drone for $200 / €157 a pop, which is $75 / €59 cheaper than what the device will go on sale for.
If everything goes well, and there’s no reason why this won’t happen, the Anura will go into mass production starting March 2015. With a bit of luck, early backers will receive their drones beginning with April.
The company behind the project promises that if it manages to sell 1000 Anuras, it will add more features in the future, including auto-takeoff, auto-land, return home function and a follow phone one. Keep your fingers crossed for the product to become a real thing.
