Camera company makes smartphone cover with built-in drone

Camera company AEE Aviation Technology has teamed up with Selfly Camera to create a smartphone cover with a small, built-in drone. The drone, which fits in the case together with a smartphone when folded, can be controlled with the smartphone, among other things.

The Selfly drone is intended for taking selfies, has a range of about thirteen meters and can stay in the air for about four minutes. It takes half an hour to fully charge the device again; this is not possible from the cover. According to the manufacturer, the case with the drone folded in has enough space for most smartphones with a screen size of four to six inches. The drone is attached to the cover on the back of the smartphone and detached again for use.

The Selfly, which by default remains in the air after take-off, can then be operated via a special smartphone app. The image of the drone can be seen on the smartphone screen, after which the user steers the drone in that direction by, for example, touching a spot on the screen. The Selfly can shoot photos and videos in 1080p resolution with a frame rate of up to sixty frames per second.

The drone will be available in the next few months and will cost $130, which includes the smartphone case and two batteries. The accompanying app is available for both Android and iOS.