Car drone platform: DJI launches camera drones from BYD electric cars

The Chinese drone manufacturer DJI and the car company BYD have jointly developed a car drone platform called "Lingyuan" to take photos and videos of the car from the air while driving. BYD announced this on Sunday. The drone system can also provide the driver with a better overview of the surroundings in confusing terrain. Accordingly, the system will initially be available as an option in the Yangwang U8 off-road premium off-roader. However, it will soon be possible to book the car drone system in all BYD vehicles.

Driving videos at the touch of a button

The car drone system is housed in a flat roof rack that is mounted on the roof of a BYD vehicle. At the touch of a button in the car, the roof rack opens to reveal a take-off and landing platform that moves upwards. The drone, a DJI Mavic 3 Pro, then takes off automatically. This should also work while driving at around 25 km/h.

The drone then follows the vehicle to take aerial photos of it. Pre-programmed flight maneuvers for different viewing angles can then be triggered. DJI and BYD are not yet revealing the speed up to which the drone can follow the car.

Landing can also take place automatically while driving. Here too, however, the vehicle must not be traveling faster than 25 km/h. If the drone's battery is almost empty, it returns to the vehicle automatically.

An automatic battery replacement system is also on board, which replaces the battery with a fresh one using an electric motor. The old battery is then recharged.

In addition to the Yangwang U8, other vehicles from the BYD Group will also be able to be equipped with the system. Initially, these will be the Denza N9 and the Sealion 07 DM-i. The Bao 8 SUV will already be equipped with the system, according to BYD.

DJI is asking a price of 2200 US dollars, around 2100 euros, for the car drone system.

(olb)