Pixy: Snapchat launches selfie drone that can fly

Snap, a firm most known for its photo-sharing app Snapchat, has now released a flying camera.

The startup describes Pixy, a small yellow drone, as a “free-flying buddy” that can assist people capture photos without using a selfie stick.

The device is available in France and the United States, where drone use is less restricted than in the United Kingdom.

It comes as a number of social media behemoths ramp up their hardware and Augmented Reality (AR) offerings.

Pixy is self-contained, taking video as it flies and wirelessly transferring and saving it to the app.

The selfie drone lands in the palm of your hand at the end of the trip.

Despite not receiving the same level of attention as other social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, Snapchat is nevertheless extremely popular.

According to Snapchat, there are 300 million daily active users worldwide. It also claims to have a reach of over 75% of people aged 13 to 34 in over 20 countries.

The next big

Snapchat’s AR “lenses” on phones, which overlay art on a selfie or distort the live image in various ways, are also popular.

Snap released Spectacles, camera-equipped eyewear, in 2016, which advanced the immersive Augmented Reality experience.

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel claimed that Spectacles would one day be as common as smartphones, but the firm lost roughly $40 million on the device in 2017.

“Excess inventory reserves and inventory purchase commitment cancellation charges” were the main reasons for the loss.

Since then, the business has released an upgraded AR version of Spectacles, but they are not yet available for purchase.

The next smartphone boom

Meanwhile, Pixy has great aspirations, as industry and the general public embrace drones more and more.

“Drone use is already ubiquitous across media, filmmaking, surveying, and inspection,” Owen Jenkins, managing director of Nationwide Drones, stated.

“It is only a matter of time until personal drones become widespread in society.”

“It’s quite unlikely to inflict damage or injury if it’s small, light, and sluggish. I don’t see why they won’t be the next big thing in smartphones.”

Mr. Jenkins expressed some concern about Pixy’s lack of a direct controller, but the device is only 101g and has enclosed propellers, so even if it went rogue, it is unlikely to cause much damage.

“It lies comfortably below the 250g limit, where the user laws begin to come in,” he explained.

Snap notes that products like Pixy are “subject to local, state, and federal rules concerning who can fly them, how they should be flown, and where they should be flown,” and advises consumers to familiarize themselves with the relevant drone legislation.

Will Harford, director of photography at Cloud Visual, advises that before Pixy may be flown for the first time, the user must answer multiple choice questions to ensure that they are aware of local drone legislation.

“Unfortunately, this little drone is just too small to carry the hardware to know where it shouldn’t fly,” he told. “It’s up to the user to know and follow the rules.”

Despite the fact that lightweight drones are not subjected to the same stringent regulations as their heavier counterparts, Mr. Harford adds that “common sense” should still be used when operating them.

“It would be a terrible idea to use it at an airport, where flying a drone, regardless of its weight, is prohibited.”

“Anyone flying a drone in the UK must observe the UK Drone code,” a representative for the UK Civil Aviation Authority stated.

“Follow-me drones are allowed as long as they stay within 50 meters of you.”

“Most drone users must register with us as a drone operator and flyer, however if a drone is classified as a toy, it is exempt from registration; however, users must still adhere to the Drone code.”

The introduction of Pixy coincides with the opening of Meta’s first hardware store, which will feature items from Facebook and other major tech companies.

On May 9th, the Meta store in Burlingame, California will open, featuring Ray-Ban AR glasses, the Portal smart camera, Quest, and Beat Saber.

“We’re not selling the metaverse in our store,” said Martin Gilliard, CEO of the Meta Store, in a statement on the company’s website.

“But maybe people will come in and go out knowing a little bit more about how our items will help connect them to it.”

The decision is considered as a sign of the company’s continued commitment to virtual reality and the metaverse.