Automatic Micro-Copter Cameraman

For those of you that are extreme sports participants, this “MikroKopter” may be the solution you’ve been waiting for.  When combined with a helmet mounted camera, this additional view should do a great job of capturing your every trick.

This setup attaches a camera to a six-rotor mini helicopter to follow and video the action. In true drone form, the camera is controlled automatically via a “point of interest” tracking transmitter.  The helicopter, however, appears to be controlled by a human operator.

There is really a lot going on with this setup from the micro helicopter itself to the tracking system (really neat how it calculates the camera angle), so be sure to check out their website. Also, be sure to check out the video of everything in action after the break. [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/25288834 w=470&h=225]

via fstoppers.com

17 thoughts on “Automatic Micro-Copter Cameraman

  1. Text in the video says the mikrokopter is also controlled by the POI, they seem to use the remote only to get it to position. (The POI seems to just use GPS, I guess on the tripod is another GPS receiver, for higher accuracy using differential GPS.)

  2. Sweet tow-rope setup — I’ve never seen anything like that before. That’s pretty ballsy to fly a canon HD slr camera above a lake like that. Very cool, I can’t wait until they get it to fly closer.

  3. @Jason and Andrew: Those are Wakeboarding parks (obviously without an actual wake that usually occurs when bein pulled by a boat. There are several of them spread over Germany. The one in the video seems to be of lesser quality and not so big. I’ve been to one that had two huge circles (left and right…for lefties and righties) and a third small “training” line (just straight). AFAIR all three of them also had some obstacles as shown in the vid.

    About the project: They seem to have one of the more expensive DSLRs (Is it a Canon?) and although mine was pretty cheap, i would be scared to crap if i’d see it flying around a lake. Also with some cheapo webcam it would be “easier” to fly lower/closer and maybe sideways to get the sportsman from his side instead of looking down at him

  4. There are parks like that in the USA too. They’re usually called cable parks or something along those lines. It’s basically a matrix of overhead cables attached to a winching system… It’s not nearly that simple, but there’s quite a bit of info available online about them.

  5. Wrap that up in a sleek disk shaped carbon-kevlar and titanium re-enforced case then give it to a paparazzi photographer…
    Alternatively replace rotors with anti-mater fuelled pulse jets then send it to the sun and back quicker then the speed of light….
    limitless possibilities… for you lazor hackers… imagine having a laser engraver that uses the earth as a sketching pad…

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