Goodbye, Selfie Sticks: What About Flying Drone Photographers?

Who needs a selfie stick if a drone can take photos for you? This is the objective of AirSelfie, a pocket-sized drone that can help users remotely capture aerial photos and videos.

According to Live Science, AirSelfie is the brainchild of Edoardo Stroppiana, an Italian entrepreneur who came up with the idea in 2014. He said the device is basically designed and produced for people who think drone cameras are very complicated, expensive and bulky.

The AirSelfie is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera that can even shoot full-high-definition 1080p video and even has a 4GB microSD card. This allows people, groups and companies to take pictures of themselves, backgrounds and objects from distances, heights and angles that they couldn't reach by merely using their arms or a selfie stick.

The flying camera is only 3.72 x 2.65 x 0.42 inches. It's smaller than a smartphone and even weighs 1.83 ounces.The drones use solar power to measure its altitude and keep itself stable with the help of tiny extra cameras to monitor its surroundings for signs of jitter. It even has gyroscopes, barometers and geomagnetic sensors for navigation.

Live Science says the AirSelfie is controlled via a free iOS or Android app. The app can make it take off, adjust its height and direction, let it do its thing autonomously, and even take an HD aerial shot or video with just a push of a button. It even comes with a 10-second timer, giving people enough time to hide their phones so they don't appear in the picture or video.

The AirSelfie uses Wi-Fi to send photos and videos wirelessly to smartphones. It even allows users to post photos and videos taken with the drone immediately on social media.

Its rechargeable lithium polymer battery gives the AirSelfie a flight time of three minutes. A power bank accessory slips over the AirSelfie like a smartphone case and can recharge it in 30 minutes. The power bank can hold 20 charges before it needs to be recharged itself. Photographers interested in the prospect can develop a fully-functioning prototype by August.