DJI launches $769 set of drone DJI Goggles – see the flight in real-time

DJI are without question world leaders in aerial photography solutions thanks to their enormous range of drones.  This week they’ve launched a new product to compliment their Phantom and Mavic drones – the DJI Goggles.

Not unfamiliar in these days of Virtual Reality headsets, the DJI Gogges have two screens inside which display the “first person view” or FPV from your drone as it flies.

Importantly, if linked to a DJI drone you can also control the camera from the goggles by simply looking around.

“DJI pilots deserve a first-person viewing experience with the same quality, power, and performance they have come to expect from our aerial platforms. We fully expect that they will be thrilled with the fun and immersive experience of flying with our goggles,” said Paul Pan, DJI’s Senior Product Manager.

“We have refined every element of DJI Goggles to the same standards as our aerial platforms, and we have optimized their connectivity to provide the most amazing drone experience yet.”

The “Head Tracking” feature allows you to use the goggles for almost complete drone control for both yaw (twisting left and right) and camera tilt, or can be used just for camera tilt.

An excellent addition to their range, it should be noted that it is illegal to fly a drone while wearing these goggles in Australia.

The only legal way to use them is for the drone pilot to have the controller in hand and visual line of sight to the drone, while someone else wears the Goggles.  It could be argued that a pilot could wear these with a spotter present to warn of any obstructions or issues in the air – though you’re best to check with CASA on that one!

Also this week DJI partnered with Seagate to release a new Drone hard drive – a portable 2TB hard drive with a built-in MicroSD card slot so you can fly your drone, land it, take the MicroSD card and dump the footage immediately onto the drive.  I haven’t tested it yet, but would be interested to see if the data transfer is automated after inserting the MicroSD or if a PC involvement is also required.