A Pasadena startup wants to extend “selfies” into the sky with a camera-carrying drone that’s capable of tracking and filming autonomously.
Polyhelo, near Lake Avenue and California Boulevard in Pasadena, unveiled their “C-mi” drone on Wednesday with a $125,000 Kickstarter that drew more than $40,000 in its first three days.
“If you want to create the perfect selfie, you can have C-mi stay in position and track you as you approach. If you want to add a richer element to the selfie, you can have C-mi orbit you creating a 360-degree panoramic backdrop,” Polyhelo wrote on its Kickstarter.
Dubbed a hexacopter because of its six propellers, the C-mi tries to shift away for complex controllers by using GPS-based navigation. Drone operators either transmit their location from their smart phone or carry an optional tracker that the drone follows, according to Mark Richardson, CEO of Polyhelo.
Those who want more mobility can still use a controller, or controls on their phone, for manual flight.
“It’s all about the imagery,” said Richardson, a former Caltech faculty member and a part of the Mars Curiosity team. “We want to make it as simple as possible, so people, who have a hard time getting into and using these devices, can use it without going through the entire process of learning how to fly.”
Richardson formed Polyhelo two years ago with members of a Caltech research group whose experience includes work on planetary orbiters and landers for NASA. The company recruited most of its 20 employees from the research institute. Richardson said he keeps Polyhelo’s R&D department in the city to tap into that talent pool, he said.
They hope to use their interstellar knowledge to tap into the billion-dollar consumer drone industry, which analysts expect to explode in the next 10 years as the Federal Aviation Administration adopts rules for commercial use.
Their drone comes with a built-in, 1080p high definition camera secured in a weather-resistant and image-stabilizing case that deploys once the C-mi takes off, Richardson said. To combat the audio problems many similar drones have, Polyhelo will record sound from the operator’s cell phone and then sync it to the video.
Polyhelo envisions C-mi shooting footage of surfers and cyclists — an action camera without a cameraman. Portability played a big role in the design too, as the frame compacts for easy carrying in a backpack, Richardson said.
Abby Austin, a personal fitness trainer and a friend of C-mi’s designers, tested a prototype of the drone roughly three weeks ago while filming fitness videos.
“It was kind of a cool perspective to have a 360 view of what I was doing outside and be able to share that with my clients,” Austin said, adding that she had never flown a drone. “Once it’s in the air, I don’t really have to do anything, I just focus on the workout and I know I’m getting great footage.”
Richardson said while the C-mi is finished, the company is still working out some kinks between the various parts before they start manufacturing at hubs in Nevada and China.
Polyhelo, which develops also develops drone components, wants to eventually release the drone through Amazon and other retailers. He said they see Kickstarter as a way for customers to pre-order the drone with an early adopter discount.
He expects C-Mi to retail at roughly $1,400 upon release, double the $699 early release price on Kickstarter. That price point puts the C-mi in competition with DJI’s Phantom line, one of the more popular consumer drone models.
If Polyhelo hits their funding goal, they plan to send out the first finished products by year’s end.
