This article will cover the top three most innovative drones according to CES. Half Chrome may have another opinion. We like them, but there were a ton of awesome drones at CES 2017. Read about them here. With CES (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show) still in full swing in Las Vegas, the most innovative drones of 2017 have already been announced. The Consumer Technology Association is the organization that puts on CES and every year they pick the products that they think are the most innovative. This year they picked 3 drones as their favorites. Let’s have a look to see which drones might be worth your time.
Two of the drones they picked are selfie drones. Many drone enthusiasts scoff at the idea of selfie drones, but here at Half Chrome we try not to judge. Besides, there isn’t a Phantom owner who hasn’t turned their drone around to see how they look from the air.
Hover Camera Passport
The first selfie drone is the is the Hover Camera Passport from Zero Zero Robotics. This drone has been around for a few months and is already fairly well known. The Hover is well reviewed and performs well with a good camera for a drone of this size. The good folks at Zero Zero took a standard quad-copter concept and shrouded it in a rectangular grate reminiscent of a milk crate. The Hover is an amazing feat for the clever and safe folding design, but it is also a bit of an eyesore. Despite its appearance, the nice camera and folding design might make this the best selfie drone available today. You will pay a pretty penny to be the first kid on the block with this drone, it will set you back $599. It is available only from B&H Photo and the manufacturer Zero Zero Robotics.
Cleo Drone
The Cleo Drone is the second selfie drone on the list. In contrast to the boxy look of the Hover Camera, the Cleo has an elegantly rounded design. Like the Hover drone, the Cleo shrouds the props to protect your hands from injury and the props from damage in flight and handling. The Cleo is attempting to abandon the control and stability offered by 4 separate props to go with what appears to be a dual inline prop design, similar to what is found on toy helicopters. It’s not clear yet how exactly the Cleo will accomplish control since there is no apparent use of other props or control surfaces. Right now the Cleo is very much vaporware in the form of a two-man start-up. The drone is supposed to be available for preorder sometime this spring. Check out Cleo’s minimalist website here. We like where Cleo is headed, but we are not sure yet if they can pull it off.
PowerUp FPV – Half Chrome Favorite
The last of the three “most innovative” drones of the year at CES is the PowerUp FPV from PowerUp Toys. PowerUp is an established company with a history of putting propellers on paper airplanes. This time they have added a second prop and an FPV video stream to their smart-phone-controlled planes. This may be a great way to get into FPV radio controlled flight. Their previous products, the PowerUp 3.0 and 2.0, are available on Amazon while the FPV is available from the Power Up website for $199. The FPV is only currently available for pre-order, with scheduled shipping in February 2017. The PowerUp 3.0 gets a mixed bag of reviews with some people loving the drone while other reviews suggest that the Power Up is buggy or suffers from quality issues. We hope they have resolved these issues because the PowerUp FPV is our favorite pick from the list. We would recommend you pick up a PowerUp 3.0 today for a much lower price before you invest in the more expensive FPV model. The PowerUp 3.0 is available from Amazon for under $50. Check the latest price here.
We will put together a wrap up of CES 2017. Stay tuned.
Not sure if one of these drones is right for you???
No worries, Half Chrome Drones has you covered. Maybe you want an aerial photography drone, or maybe you want a fun toy. Want FPV? We’ve developed an advanced system to match you to the right drone. We call it our Half Chrome Drone Cipher™, go check it out. We also are constantly updating our Best Drones Now page to help you stay current.
Maybe you want us to do the work for you???
We’ve flown, crashed and taken pictures with a ton of drones. You want to know which one we think is best? Sure. Are you on a budget? Of course. We have three great articles breaking down the best drones in your budget. Check them out.
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