Vivo, despite being an underdog in the industry has always been at the forefront of smartphone design, especially with its camera innovations. To recall, Vivo Apex was the first device to feature a selfie camera underneath the display. Last year, the company won the Red Dot Design Award for its concept device that comes with a detachable front-facing camera called Vivo IFEA. Now, Vivo is once again prepping to steal the limelight with its flying smartphone camera. Yes, you read that right and there is no gimmick here.
Vivo has filed a patent with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for a camera that disconnects from the phone and takes to the air. This was first reported by LetsGoDigital (in Dutch). Also, we are talking about a proper drone camera here. The module features four propellers, two dual cameras, three infrared proximity sensors, and a battery. Now, the proximity sensors, as most of you already know are used to prevent the camera module from crashing into other objects in the flying path. Just like with any drone camera, the camera module will also be able to change positions. As for the cameras on the flying module, one is found at the front and the other one is found on the top.
The report also adds that the tiny drone camera module can be controlled by the smartphone and it might as well support gesture control. While drones are not new to us, Vivo has to be the first smartphone company to be able to integrate a fully functional flying camera fit into the body of a smartphone. Also, to make the module fit inside the phone, it has to be smaller and lighter than ever. While the product is new and kind of a revolutionary thing, the implementation is not totally a new thing to us. We have seen mini drones in the past that can technically be connected to smartphones. But, they are a bit heavy and are about the size of the phone.
That said, there is a major caveat with Vivo’s concept. As mentioned earlier, the drone module has to be smaller and lighter to fit inside a smartphone, meaning the drone can be blown off the track if there even a little bit of wind and also might result in shaky video footage and images regardless of OIS. It is recommended to take this with a grain of salt as this is just a patent. Just because Vivo seeks to file a patent, it doesn’t mean the product will be launched. It could end up being a prototype or Vivo might not announce it at all.
