"Antigravity": Insta360 founds drone company
Insta360, the company known for 360-degree action cams, has announced the launch of its subsidiary "Antigravity", which is set to bring a new kind of drone.
(Image: Antigravity)
DJI has dominated the global market for camera drones for private use for years; even well-known companies such as GoPro have failed to stand up to the Chinese company in the past. Although rival models from China are occasionally launched on the German market (such as the Potensic Atom 2, recently tested by c't), they have not been able to wrest any significant market share from DJI. This could now change: Today, Monday, the launch of a new drone company called “Antigravity” was officially announced. This is newsworthy, not least because the new drone manufacturer is backed by the well-known company Insta360 (and other companies not mentioned in detail), which is itself extremely successful with 360-degree action cams.
Above all, however, Antigravity claims to be introducing the concept of immersive 360-degree flight to drones and “fully embracing this sector”. In practice, this could mean that the user can no longer just look fixed in the direction in which the camera on the gimbal is pointing but instead has an all-round view. Insta360 action cams also offer the option of freely selecting the perspective in the finished video. This could make it easier to generate impressive videos from drone footage – possibly with the help of AI algorithms, such as those already used for 360-degree footage on the ground.
The statement from Antigravity's Head of Marketing BC Nie sounds like a challenge to DJI: “While the competition is only competing with technical specifications, we are approaching the whole thing from the other side by thinking about what a drone should be able to do. The result is something that arouses real emotions and allows everyone to live out their freedom, creativity, and spirit of discovery.”
Videos by heise
So what's coming?
Although the current press release on the Antigravity launch does not yet contain an announcement of a specific model, the company is already talking about an “upcoming first product” that will be presented in August “after years of quiet development”. Elsewhere, there is talk of the world's first 360-degree drone with “a weight of less than 249 g and 8K resolution”. It is also promised that users do not need any previous experience and that the drone can be controlled intuitively.
Antigravity has also published a video on YouTube showing what shots with the new drone could look like:
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externes YouTube-Video (Google Ireland Limited) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (Google Ireland Limited) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
Interestingly, the announcement of the drone comes at the same time that DJI is apparently announcing its first 360-degree action cam. This can be seen on DJI's website and is set to be officially unveiled on July 31. Insta360 presented the latest model in its 360-degree series, the X5, at the end of April. In the c't test, the larger sensors (1/1.28-inch sensors (12.5 mm diagonal) instead of 1/2-inch chips (8 mm diagonal)) and the interchangeable lenses were the main positive features of the model. We will have to see what DJI's premiere model has to offer.
Why a new company?
So far, we can only speculate as to why Insta360 does not simply launch drones directly under its name. After all, the company is already known for 360-degree video recordings. It is conceivable that other companies are involved in the background that have spoken out against this approach. Likewise, Insta360 might want to ensure that its name is not damaged if the drone project fails.
However, the new company could also have something to do with the fact that Insta360, like DJI, is based in China. In the recent past, the US government has taken regulatory action against DJI because the flight data and footage recorded by the drones could be passed on by DJI to the Chinese government and then analyzed by intelligence agencies. Meanwhile, the shelves with DJI drones are becoming increasingly empty in the USA. DJI no longer even offers one of its latest drones, the Mavic 4 Pro, on the US market.
It is therefore conceivable that Antigravity will be positioned as a non-Chinese company. When asked, the responsible German PR agency stated that Antigravity is an international company with legal entities in the USA, China, Singapore, and other countries. However, no further information on the headquarters is currently available.
(nij)
