New Drone Tech from CES 2017

by Rey Gonzalez January 12, 2017

CES 2017 started off 2017 with a lot of great tech in the drone space. Companies like Autel and YUNEEC showed off some new drones and prototypes that certainly showed their commitment to the growing drone market. Of course DJI had a strong presence at CES 2017, showing off new products like the Osmo Mobile Silver and the Mavic. Let's take a look at a rundown of some new drone tech from this year at CES 2017.

YUNEEC

YUNEEC unveiled it’s new “industrial drone” at CES, the Typhoon H520. Using the framework of the original Typhoon H, the H520 is an upgrade . Besides being a bright orange color, the H520 has a new camera that is able to look up 20 degrees, whci YUNEEC claims will help with inspections like bridge inspection. The motors are also larger making it stronger for commercial use. YUNEEc will offer the H520 with three different cameras. There is the CGO-CI seven element inspection ready camera, the CGO-ET dual thermal imaging, rgb camera, and the CGO3+ camera. The H520 also adds more camera functions like burst, panoramic shooting and time lapse. The YUNEEC H520 will be available from $2499-$4499 depending on the configuration.

Autel

Autel Robotics made a splash last year at CES 2016 by promising what DJI was lacking, reliable US based customer service. This year they are sharing with the world their ideas and concepts. This is a great idea, because even though they are not current prototypes or products we can buy, it shows us where Autel is heading and that they are thinking outside of the box.

Autel announced two new products for their X Star line of drones. The first is a 1” inch sensor camera. And the ther is a gimbal that will hold the Flir Duo camera. The Duo is a side by side Thermal/Visual image camera. The great thing that Autel has done here is that they have made this a modular system that will work with the current Autel X Star drone. This means that you do not have to buy a new drone to get the upgrade. Simply purchase the new camera you want and slide it onto the drone. DJI can definitely take a page out of this book.

DJI

DJI has rfeleased a few products here at CES 2017. Since the MAvic Pro and Phantom 4 Pro/Pro+ were released latee last year, DJI's products are mostly software or accessories. The only exceptions is the Osmo Mobile Silver, which basically is an Osmo Mobile, but silver. DJI adds the prototype of the Crystal Sky video monitor which has a very bright screen that can be seen well even in direct sunlight. They also revealed their GS Pro App, which helps with detailed aerial mapping. DJI continues to offer new products at an alarming rate and has their competition reeling. Now they just need to get these products into their customer's hands (Mavic anyone?)

2016 was said to be the “year of the drone”. I think 2017 will bring more of the saem and maybe even surpass it. It is great to see companies like Autel solidify and let us know they will be here for the long run. YUNEEC continues to add new products and work on improving their line up. DJI still dominates the space and continues to push the rest. Let’s hope that 2017 continues to bring us great drone tech.

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