Quadcopter mini foldable selfi drone

When the Air Selfie project, then at the crowdfunding campaign on the Kickstarter platform, was unveiled, I was very cautious. Too small, without stabilization of his camera. The project was funded, he fell behind as always, but it is now available for purchase. What is it really worth? Here is the result of the tests. Note that this device was given to us by the Bang good store. As usual, tell us if you think that practice has influenced our judgment. Note that an Airselfie2 is out, available in France. It's the same, exactly as this Air Selfie. 

Owner’s tour

The Air Selfie surprises by its featherweight, 61 grams on the scale with its battery. Anyway, there is no choice, we cannot remove it is integrated and not removable. The device measures 6.8 x 9.5 x 10.6 cm. It's slightly wider and thicker than a smartphone, and shorter.  Impressive especially as the 6-blade propellers are built into the hull, made of aluminum. They are animated by brushless micromotors. At the front of the camera is the lens of his camera. At the back is placed a micros connector. On the sides, they are ventilation grilles. Under the Air, Selfie is housed the on / off button, an IMU chip that combines a gyroscope and an altimetry barometer, and a vertical camera.

 Before taking off?

The Air Selfie must be recharged via the micros connector. It only takes one USB port that delivers at least 2A for the load to be operational. It takes about 25 minutes for a full charge. The version I tested comes with a portable battery, type "Power Bank". It has an external micros connector, but it also allows you to host the entire Air Selfie! Once slid inside, the charge starts automatically. 

The settings

Long press on/off button to turn on the Air Selfie. It emits a triple beep - in the absence of a diode, it is the only way to know that it is on. It appears in the list of wife access points. Once connected, launch Air Selfie. The top-right icon allows you to calibrate, select photo settings, determine control jitteriness, and get a summary of component versions. The settings of the camera? Let's say they are sketchy: you can determine a delay before the triggering of a photo and take several snapshots. That's all. Back to the main menu which gives access to 3 driving modes and the photo and video gallery.

Selfie Beginner mode

Why selfie? Because the camera is flying with the camera facing you. Why beginner? Because orders are given by pressing virtual keys on the screen. The interface is presented vertically, and the video return compressed in a square that tightens the image.  It's not really nice. The latency is high, and the number of images per second displayed on the smartphone screen is low. An icon makes it possible to start the recording of a video, another one cuts the engines in urgency. To take a picture? No icon, just touch the image. 

What should be done?

The principle of taking off the Air Selfie is to launch it by hand! Very slowly, to make him leave the palm of the hand. Astonishing, but it works pretty well, it detects the absence of the hand and stays in the air. Finally.it stays more or less in the air. Because maintaining the altitude, with the help of the barometer altimetry, is not really effective, it's the least I can say! The Air Selfie goes down a good meter, sometimes more, and goes back up. But not always. In this case, it's up to you to push the throttle. 

So this mode "Selfie Beginner"?

It allows you to go up, down, turn right, turn left, rotate right, turn left. But to move forward and back? It's not planned. As the stationary is non-existent, this absence is synonymous with a crash in the minute after take-off! The Air Selfie does not always stop during a crash, it is up to you to cut the engines with the virtual key. This first flight is very disappointing! Switch to "airSelfie Motion Control" mode. The presentation is the same, but the interface shows a virtual pad with 4 keys: up, down, right rotation left rotation. For advance, recoil, slide right and left, you have to press the screen and tilt the smartphone. Automated stationery is still inefficient, but driving is a little easier.