SUV vehicle has a built-in drone that launches out of the roof
Technology
This luxury electric SUV from China can launch an autonomous drone
(Web Desk) - The theme of this year's Consumer Electronics Show was finding a way to cram AI into everything from TVs to toilets.
BYD didn't get the memo on the trend, and so has instead put a drone into an electric EV, giving the driver an on-demand eye in the sky.
Although mostly unknown here in North America, BYD is a Chinese EV maker that managed to overtake Tesla in 2022 as the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer, going on to deliver more than three million vehicles in 2023.
The company is clearly doing something right, but is still working on delivering innovative new EV features to help further bolster its market share, including a team-up with its Shenzen neighbors, DJI.
Growing up spending a lot of time in bumper-to-bumper Detroit traffic, I often fantasized about having a small camera-equipped plane I could launch and fly around to see why exactly traffic wasn't moving.
More decades than I'm willing to admit later, BYD and DJI are making my childhood fantasy come true.
Demonstrated on BYD's YangWang U8 luxury electric SUV, a modified DJI Mavic 3 Pro drone can now dock inside what appears to be a streamlined luggage carrier atop the vehicle.
Instead of holding suitcases, however, the carrier features a sliding roof that opens to reveal the DJI drone ready for take-off.
Auto-tracking capabilities allow the drone to keep pace with the vehicle itself while it's driving, without the need for someone to actively pilot it (although a wireless remote appears to be included if someone in the vehicle wants to fly the craft away from the EV).
Unlike with many drones, there's also not a pair of video goggles that show what the drone's cameras are seeing, as video from the craft also appears to be wirelessly streamed to the vehicle's infotainment system instead.
Other features of the integrated drone dock include, according to DroneDJ, three replacement batteries that are kept charged by leeching off the vehicle's electrical system, plus an automated mechanism that can swap out a depleted battery with a fresh one when the drone returns to the dock.
Is this feature going to finally convince millions of people they need to run out and buy an electric car? Probably not, but an onboard drone certainly has some compelling uses.
Not only will you be able to capture some truly compelling aerial vacation footage while on a road trip, but a drone autonomously following and recording your vehicle could also be the ultimate dash cam solution, perfectly capturing any crashes you might get into.
BYD U8 with drone and docker pic.twitter.com/W7yyjaFE8M
— 航拍世家 打手 (@DealsDrone) January 16, 2024
