The new Xiro Xplorer 2 from the Shenzhen Zero UAV Tech was recently presented on the CES 2016. The Xplorer 2 has unique design and one very important safety feature – obstacle avoidance. The guys from Zero UAV call it anti-collision system, but it’s the same thing.
Like the SMD Mirage drone, the Xplorer 2 have ultrasonic sensors on board, but uses these for altitude control. Its 360° anti-collision system is based on a camera module, that uses ground texture and optical flow – LiDAR. This technology isn’t groundbreaking and its extremely important how well it is implemented by the software. I have already discussed this problem in my Kickstarter Drone Guide.
When flying outdoors the drone will use both GPS and GLONASS satellite systems for navigation. Thanks to these you will have the following features:
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One-key takeoff landing
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Assisted hover a.k.a. position hold
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Lost control protection
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One-key return home
A 4K capable camera and 3-axis gimbal are going to be pretty standard in 2016. The Xplorer 2 has both, so you will be able to record crystal clear and smooth aerial videos and unleash your creativity. Shooting at full HD will even let you capture up to 120fps and make great slow motion videos.
Using your smartphone as a display you can get a live preview of your video in 720p quality. According to Zero UAV a distance of up to 1km should be possible.
The remote control (transmitter) looks great and at the same time should give you perfect control of your Xplorer 2. Using it you can control the camera and the 3-axis gimbal. You have buttons for “Return to home” and “Takeoff landing” as well as one switch for “Altitude mode” and “GPS mode”. There is also a LED indicator for the remote control battery level.
Additional flight modes are available when using the Xiro App:
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Follow me mode
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Autonomous flight using pre-defined waypoints
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Surround POI
Last but not least: 25min flight time. This depends much on the flying style and weather conditions, but in theory the 5300mAh 4S smart LiPo battery should provide the needed power for a 25min flight.
Summary: The 350mm type drone looks awesome in my opinion. And for 1.499$ I am sure the 4K video will be great too. My only concern will be how good the 3-axis gimbal stabilize the video. As a pilot with a lot of flight experience, I find the anti-collision system the best feature of it. I hope that the hardware and software engineers at Zero UAV had implemented it in the best possible way. Pretty excited to see how it really performs in flight. Still no release date for the Xplorer 2, but it should be available soon.
Update: According to the Xiro Facebook page, the expected date for the Xplorer 2 is May 2016.
