Nixie quadcopter concept aims to take selfies to the next level

 

Nixie is a wearable drone designed for autonomous seflies

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Nixie is a camera-equipped quadcopter designed to follow the user around taking pictures and videos on command, while conveniently wrapping around the wrist to form a bracelet when not in use.

The selfie is officially an international phenomenon. With some companies boasting about how their smartphones pack "perfect for selfie" front-facing shooters, and others going as far as releasing bizarre cameras designed specifically for the purpose – whether you like it or not, it’s here to stay.

Enter Nixie, the tiny quadcopter that aims to evolve the concept by taking the camera out of your hands and into the air. The idea is fairly straightforward – take a tiny drone, fit it with a swiveling camera and have it follow the user around capturing photos or video. In that way, it's quite similar to the proposed MeCam drone. What makes it more interesting (and a little whacky) is the ability to fold the quadcopter's limbs to turn into a wearable bracelet.

At present, Nixie is still a concept, with the company yet to produce a fully working version (you can see it in prototype form above). The product is one of 10 finalists in Intel’s Make it Wearable (MIW) challenge, the winner of which will receive US$500,000 to help turn their concept into a reality.

If it comes to fruition, then the final product will pair with a smartphone app, taking off on command, hovering a little way away to put the user in the frame before snapping a photo or video. Flight will be fully automatic, without the need for manual input, and the drone will return to the user when finished.

With the Nixie drone still being a concept, details such as battery life and specs are yet to be confirmed, but we do know that users will be able to switch it into a specific mode for selfies, panoramas or continuous movies.

 

Source: Nixie