[10:14 Fri,11.April 2025 by Thomas Richter] |
Zero Zero Robotics, the manufacturer of the popular HoverAir selfie drones, has introduced the V-Copter Falcon Mini, the world&s first bi-copter drone that falls under the 250g limit. The Falcon Mini follows a completely different concept than the usual quadcopter design, which all consumer drones such as DJI&s Mavic and Mini model series follow, because it uses only 2 (swiveling) instead of the usual 4 rotors. ;) Falcon Mini
In the entry-level drone segment with prices around 300 euros, the V-Copter Falcon Mini competes directly with  DJI&s Mini 4K for 299 euros - the new concept is said to offer several improvements compared to it, such as greater acceleration, greater agility, quieter flight and longer flight times. Two rotors instead of four - the technologyThe immense competitive pressure from DJI in the drone market seems to be forcing the last remaining competitors to innovate in order to counter DJI&s dominance with a better technology. A quadcopter stabilizes its position with four rotors, but using only two usually leads to undesirable pendulum movements. With the Falcon Mini, the use of only two rotors is made possible by a special trick: the rotors can react to vibrations in real time and compensate for them with a minimal adjustment of their angle with an accuracy of 0.01°, so that the V-Copter flies stably - the name V-Copter refers to the V-shaped design of the Falcon Mini (when viewed from the front). ;) Falcon Mini This innovation enables the use of only two propellers, which should bring several advantages. Thanks to their swivelability, they can be quickly tilted slightly forward from the horizontal position required for hovering to generate propulsion. This is how a flight speed of 12 m/s can be reached in just 3.2 seconds - significantly faster than quadcopters, which ZZR says take 4-5 seconds to do so. The two individually tiltable propellers should also lead to better maneuverability and enable tighter curves and more precise control than with quadcopters, which have to vary the speed of their four rotors to do this.  The elimination of two rotors (including motors) and larger rotor blades that run at a lower speed should also lead to greater efficiency and - a big plus - quieter operation (with 5db less noise), which would be a major improvement in the rotor whine that many people often find extremely annoying. The greater efficiency should also be noticeable in the flight time - the Falcon Mini achieves a 3 minutes longer flight time than the directly competing DJI Mini 4K. Zero Zero Robotics (ZZR) had already developed such a bi-copter several years ago, but it was much larger and far too expensive. The further developed version is now much smaller and cheaper. On board is a 4K camera, which, in addition to 4K with up to 30p or 2,688 x 1512 video in 50p, can also shoot vertical videos in 2.7K and is stabilized by a 3-axis gimbal. The included remote control uses the pilot&s smartphone and its own app as a display for a flight preview in 720p at a distance of up to 2.4km. The now common intelligent flight functions are also included in the Falcon Mini&s program - for example, it automatically returns to the starting point via Return-to-Home on request or performs smart recording maneuvers such as Orbit or Zoom-Out. The app can also be used to change the camera settings or flight parameters and download the recorded video. The rotor arms can be folded in for transport. ;) Falcon Mini Affordable weight classThe weight, which is just below the 250g limit, gives drone pilots some advantages over heavier models: they do not need a drone license and are allowed to fly closer to uninvolved people and also over residential areas (although direct overflights should be avoided). Although there is a registration requirement for camera drones in this weight class, the bureaucratic effort for flights is significantly lower overall (flight restrictions such as no-fly zones or the maximum flight altitude of 120 meters still apply). ;) Falcon Mini Price and availabilityAs with the HoverAir X1 selfie drone, Zero Zero Robotics is relying on crowdfunding to sell the Falcon Mini. The V-Copter Falcon Mini can now be pre-ordered via the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo. Early birds can benefit from the Super Early Bird special price of only 225 euros for the drone with remote control (a discount of 37%), the Fly More Combo with an additional 2 batteries, a repair kit and a carrying case costs 369 euros - delivery is scheduled to start in June 2025, optionally with a matte black or canary yellow housing. As always Caveat Warning  more infos at bei www.vcopter.comdeutsche Version dieser Seite: HoverAir Falcon Mini macht DJI Konkurrenz - besser dank nur 2 schwenkbarer Rotoren? |
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