DJI Teases a New Mini Drone to be Revealed at May 24th Event

NewsIndustry

by Nic DivischekMay 22^nd, 2017

EDIT: DJI Spark drone was launched. Read all about it here: LINK

On May 24th, DJI will hold a VIP event in New York releasing a new mini drone. With a brand-new promotional video out and about, it is for certain that we will see something along the lines of a DJI Mavic “mini-me”.

DJI have been keeping the pressure on in the drone market. After a tumultuous start, GoPro are back on sale with GoPro Karma, so the market for “put your drone in a backpack and off you go” is becoming more populated with a huge audience on the other end. With the recent release of the DJI Phantom 4 Advanced at NAB just a few weeks ago, they obviously had a top secret plan up their sleeves to woe us all. Have a look at their promotional video below and gaze in awe how a drone can fly easily through canyons and through a library.

As the saying goes “size doesn’t matter”, and the new mini drone – called “DJI Spark” according to several rumor sites – will surely live up to that. Based on what we have learned, this drone will be the mini-me counterpart to DJI Mavic. One of the titles that come up in their promotional video stood out of all of them. The word “Size” transforms into “Seize” and continues into “seize the moment”.

“S(e)ize the moment” – May 24th Promotional Video

Based on the video DJI have released, the new mini drone seems to fit in a small backpack or purse. It therefore must be an incredibly small drone that can fly through caves, canyons, poles and even indoors through a stack of books in a library.

Screenshot of DJI Spark promotional video, showcasing its size when flying through a stack of books in a library

Having seen the library shot, I would suspect it to still be fuelled with incredible features that we all know and have come to appreciate from DJI drone products. Coupled with DJI Goggles, this drone will surely create a new field of possibilities for DJI lovers.

The DJI event will take place on May 24th 2017. cinema5D has been invited and will keep you up-to-date as we learn more about the new release. Stay tuned.

DJI Firmware Update Alert

In other news, it seems that unfortunately DJI is forcing a firmware upgrade on their users. DJI will soon introduce a new application activation process for international customers. This new step, to take effect at the end of next week, ensures you will use the correct set of geospatial information and flight functions for your aircraft, as determined by your geographical location and user profile.

If this activation process is not performed, the aircraft will not have access to the correct geospatial information and flight functions for that region, and its operations will be restricted if you update the upcoming firmware: Live camera streaming will be disabled, and flight will be limited to a 50-meter (164-foot) radius up to 30 meters (98 feet) high.