Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich and BBC create electric kite :- Fotokite

Gary Mortimer

Perhaps the most exciting concept that I have seen in a long while in the sUAS field. Why, because it falls outside of regulation in most cases. As with all good technology Sergei Lupashin makes it look simple whilst flying on stage at last weeks DARC conference in New York. Very impressed. I bet there were some long nights behind getting this right.

The Fotokite, an ETH spin-off project, is a tethered flying platform that lets a user spontaneously access unique vantage points in varied environments.

Working with partners such as the BBC, we are working to make the Fotokite a viable, useful, live-streaming TV & journalism tool. For this, the user should be able to quickly and accurately frame the precise shot, simultaneously controlling both the position and the attitude of the platform.

At the core of the Fotokite approach is the “keep it simple” philosophy. To allow for attitude control, without overloading the user, we can use either an IMU-equipped screen or an IMU-equipped immersive display such as the Oculus Rift or the Google Glass.

http://rpg.ifi.uzh.ch/student_projects.html

This will be everywhere within 2 years. Are you using it yet Ant ;-)