Cao Zhen

    caozhen0806@126.com

    DJI, a Shenzhen-based global leader in unmanned aerial vehicle technology, unveiled its new Phantom drone Saturday at its flagship store in OCT Harbor in Nanshan District, which has premium features such as obstacle avoidance, tap-to-fly and visual tracking of moving objects.

    The 8,999-yuan (US$1,384) Phantom 4 continues the heritage of the consumer-class Phantom line. It is improved by increasing longer effective flight time and upgrading 4K imaging.

    “The new features make the drones easier to use to allow inexperienced users quickly to be drone pilots,” said Qiao Yan, CEO of DJI Studio, at Saturday’s event. He said the Phantom 4 has optical sensors that allow it to “see” and avoid obstacles and then automatically route the drone around it or hover in flight and wait for the pilot to redirect it.

    Qiao said DJI applied machine-learning techniques to make the Phantom 4 track an object, allowing it to do things like orbit an object while keeping a smooth, steady shot. With TapFly Touch-Based Flight Control Mode, users can tap a destination on the paired tablet screen and the drone will automatically fly to that spot. Users can also tap another destination while the Phantom 4 is in flight and it will smoothly transit to a new direction.

    Other improvements include a new battery to ensure a longer flight time of a total of 28 minutes and a redesigned 4K camera that offers better corner sharpness and reduced chromatic aberration.

    With the increasing demand in aerial photography, the commercial drone market continues to grow. Ease of use has long been DJI’s biggest selling point and its profile has risen quickly since the company began selling drones in 2013. Amid the stiff competition in the global commercial drone market, DJI outpaces rivals such as Parrot in France and Germany’s Microdrones, occupying 70 percent of the global drone market.