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It was only 8 a.m., but the sun was already baking portions of Central Park’s Sheep Meadow when I met up with Mike Luff. As I walked up to him, the Staaker drone company's VP of marketing apologized for his casual dress (his gray T-shirt and shorts actually seemed pretty smart as the temperatures were already climbing into the upper 80’s). Luff flew in from Australia overnight and none of his luggage had arrived with him.
The grassy, expansive field was still closed, so Luff stood on a small, dusty patch of land adjacent to it. He was holding a rigid, black bag. Inside was the drone I came to see and the reason we had to meet in New York City’s iconic park. There simply aren’t many places where you can fly drones these days without someone crying foul.
The Staaker drone folds up for easy storage.Credit: LANCE ULANOFF/MASHABLEAs Luff unpacked the drone prototype -- the final version goes on pre-order Tuesday -- dogs literally darted between us. We had unwittingly chose the park’s prime, unleashed dog-walking zone. I hoped they wouldn’t disrupt our test flight.
The new drone, called Staaker (but pronounced “stalker”) is designed specifically for action sports. It stands (or flies) out from other drones, Luff told me, for its ability to follow intelligently. Certainly, drones that can track their pilots is nothing new. Both the DJI Phantom 4 and Yuneec Typhoon handle that task with ease. However, Luff explained that Staaker will use its tracking algorithms to smooth out the follow path. “It learns your sport,” he said.
On a skiing slalom run, for example, the athlete will be weaving back and forth across the course. Staaker, by contrast, uses its algorithms to compute the most efficient following course, making as smooth and straight a flying path as possible, “So the resulting video won't make you sick,” said Luff. That video, by the way, is shot with a GoPro Hero 4 camera attached to a gimbal that keeps the images smooth and steady. Staaker may eventually produce its own HD camera.
Sports drone
Luff held up the black and orange Staaker drone and unfolded the four rotor arms and landing gear, which are actually used to lock the arms in place. Unlike most drones I’ve tested, this one packs away with the propeller blades already attached, which does save a bit of set-up time.
Staaker drone uses a wrist controller.Credit: LANCE ULANOFF/MASHABLEThe other key component of the Staaker system is the controller. Luff slipped the orange rubberized device on his wrist. It has a tiny, black and white (though clearly readable) LCD screen and eight large buttons for navigating the menus and controlling the drone. There is no other controller, though the company may, at some point, produce an iPhone app. Even so, there are a number of key benefits to the wearable control system.
Aside from being waterproof, “it has a GPS radio that’s 20-times stronger than the GPS in the iPhone,” said Luff as he prepared the Staaker for our test flight.
Lift-off
Luff inserted the near-fuselage-length battery, turned on the drone and then placed it near a grassy patch (hoping to kick up less dust) as a number of dogs darted around the scene. I prayed none of them would decide to take a run at the drone.
On his wrist, Luff navigated to lift-off and hit a button. Like most other drones of its class, Staaker is equipped with a barometer to track altitude. On launch, it immediately flies to roughly 10 feet in the air and then awaits instructions. It has a max altitude of around 328 feet.
Staaker offers three modes of flight, all set from the wrist controller.
Staaker drone in the airCredit: LANCE ULANOFF/MASHABLEFirst there’s Follow. The pilot positions the drone in the sky, and then it follows the pilot at up to 50 mph, always maintaining the same relative distance (while still ensuring a smooth and straight flight).
Next, there’s Compass. This uses the Staaker drone’s built-in compass to keep it pointed in a certain direction, while still following you. It’s a good mode for keeping a picturesque scene in the background as you move.
Finally, there’s Scenery, which is for capturing panoramic and tracking shots. It will send the drone straight out or back to you in one direction while you control the altitude.
Run for it
Luff started demonstrating some of these modes, at one point running around in circles as the drone deftly kept track. As I watched, I realized we were surrounded by trees and wondered how the Staaker drone could avoid them while still keeping him in its sights.
Turns out that the drone does not have obstacle avoidance.
“So you do have to plan a little bit on the route,” said Luff, noting that you really have to pay attention to the drone while it pays attention to you. Luff said that if you spot a tree in the drone’s path, you can hit the pause button on the controller and the drone will immediately stop – he demonstrated it for me—and hover until you adjust its altitude with the arrow button. I’m not sure how effective that will be when you and the drone are flying along at 50 mph.
Staaker currently uses a GoPro Hero 4 camera, but since GoPro is planning its own drone, Staaker may eventually make its own HD camera.Credit: LANCE ULANOFF/MASHABLEOf course, the Staaker team has been doing a lot of testing out in the open water with pro surfer Jamie O’Brien. Luff said that the controller handles the waves and water with ease.
I’ve flown drones over water and a fair distance from me and the concern is always the drone getting so far away that I can’t bring it back because it either loses connection or runs out of battery.
If Staaker loses its connection to the controller, say if O’Brien goes under a wave, the drone will simply stop and hover until the surfer resurfaces. As for battery life, you can actually set a home point (which is where the drone launched from) and Staaker will calculate its distance from that spot and always keep enough battery life in reserve to return home.
Flying blind
While the controller will let you keep track of the drone, there is no way, for now, to see what the drone’s GoPro camera sees until you offload the video later. Luff told me they hope to ship an updated controller with a large, color touch screen, complete with a real-time video feed, by late next year.
The Staaker drone all folded up.Credit: LANCE ULANOFF/MASHABLEI watched Luff use the controller to land the drone. As it touched down, a Yorkie terrier came running toward it, but stopped a few feet short of the Staaker while its whirring propellers kicked up considerable dust. Luff noted how the gimbal automatically tilted the GoPro up to keep it away from the dust and dirt.
We flew for around 20 minutes (Staaker should give you 30 minutes of flight time, even as the battery supplies power to the GoPro). Luff, though, was hesitant to let me fly or do another test flight: The extra batteries and charger were also in his lost luggage.
The Staaker is currently on pre-order for $1,200, but will eventually retail for $1,800 when it ships later this year. It will come with the one battery, controller, charger and that nifty carrying case. The drone will also look somewhat different. Notably, the black antenna sticking up from the top will be gone. Luff said the company switched antenna companies and can now fit it inside the body of the drone.
Staaker VP of marketing Mike Luff holds the Staaker drone in its carrying case.Credit: LANCE ULANOFF/MASHABLE