Air Hogs racing drone lets you experience crashes first-hand
The palm-sized DR1 quad live streams video to your phone giving you a first-person view.
- More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
Air Hogs' next line of toy drones will lower the price and difficulty barriers for racing drones.
The $100 DR1 FPV Race Drone (about £80 or AU$130) is a palm-sized quad with a camera in front that will live stream video to a phone you place in the included headset. The drone has ducted propellers for safety and a built-in pressure sensor so you can concentrate on learning control and flying by first-person-view (FPV) through a headset while worrying less about dropping out of the sky.
Once you've got a handle on things, you can shut off the sensor and enjoy a more traditional racing drone experience. During my brief demo, its agility reminded me of the Blade Glimpse FPV -- but with the price and the easy flying capabilities of the Aerix Vidius HD.
If FPV flying doesn't interest you, Air Hogs will also offer the DR1 Micro Race Drone. This is a slightly smaller version of the FPV model minus its camera and headset for $40, which converts to about £30 or AU$50.
At that same $40 price, which roughly converts to £30 or AU$50, Air Hogs will also have the Drift Drone. It's a tiny toy quadcopter similar to the Micro Race Drone, but it also slots vertically into a plastic hovercraft body so you can fly it or drive it on the ground.
And if driving is more your thing than flying, there will be an FPV Race Car for $100 that, like the racing drone, will allow you to drive via a live stream from a camera on the car, making it feel like you're actually driving the small RC car.
Joining the drones is the Robo Trax, an all-terrain tank that shoots missiles, but can also convert into a self-balancing robot. It will sell for $75 (approximately £60 or AU$100 converted) when it arrives later this year with the rest of these.
