Alexa-powered, self-flying Aire drone launches on Kickstarter

Polycount

Posts: 3,017   +590

Thanks to smart speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home, it's now possible to control most aspects of your home (including lighting, audio, TV and even online shopping) without lifting a finger.

But for drone start-up Aevena, the future of personal robot assistants isn't coming fast enough. Available for backing on Kickstarter, the company's flagship Aire drone boasts a pretty impressive set of features.

According to the Kickstarter page, the drone will be capable of autonomous flight, responding to certain voice-prompted commands and even some light security features thanks to the Aire's built-in, night vision-equipped 4K camera.

You can keep an eye on things while away from home by simply accessing the drone's app on your phone.

For more casual use of the drone's camera, you can command it to take pictures at will (or you can simply grab it and reposition it yourself). Once finished fiddling around with it, the Aire will automatically stabilize itself and continue flying (similar to what the original Lily would have been capable of had it not flopped).

The concept of a self-flying drone is nothing new but the combination of that technology with security features and Alexa skills certainly makes the Aire stand out from the crowd without being overly ambitious.

While the Aire team does have a working prototype, it's not perfect at the moment.

According to hands-on accounts, the Aire can be quite noisy when flying around the house. Apparently, the gadget emits sounds more akin to a vacuum cleaner than your standard drone - not exactly ideal for a device that's being marketed as a personal home assistant.

As interesting as the Aire might be, it's reasonable to be a bit skeptical of the project given the many other failed drone start-ups out there. Lily and Zano are two of the most popular examples, having raised millions during their respective crowdfunding campaigns.

Still, Aevena isn't asking for much at the moment -- only $50,000 total -- and it sounds like they have their ambitions in check compared to the many other failed drone projects. Only time will tell, however.

If you want to check out the project for yourself, visit the official Kickstarter page and give it a look. Aire backing pricing starts at $699 for a Beta model and $749 for a production unit when it ships out sometime in December 2018.

Permalink to story.

 
"Thanks to smart speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home, it's now possible to control most aspects of your home (including lighting, audio, TV and even online shopping) without lifting a finger".
And this is supposed to be a good thing? Since when has "lifting a finger" ever hurt or killed anybody?
 
"Thanks to smart speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home, it's now possible to control most aspects of your home (including lighting, audio, TV and even online shopping) without lifting a finger".
And this is supposed to be a good thing? Since when has "lifting a finger" ever hurt or killed anybody?

Eh, I don't personally care either way. I prefer to do my own shopping and home stuff, but if someone doesn't want to, I have nothing against them using a speaker to do it for them. Still, there's definitely something to be said for the complete removal of any effort as AI and personal assistants get more advanced - could be harmful in the long run. Just look at Wall-E... :p
 
"Thanks to smart speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home, it's now possible to control most aspects of your home (including lighting, audio, TV and even online shopping) without lifting a finger".
And this is supposed to be a good thing? Since when has "lifting a finger" ever hurt or killed anybody?
Perhaps you have something against people who won't lift a finger and I don't blame you but keep in mind this could be a good thing for some people who aren't as able bodied as you or me. That is, people who have disabilities of one kind or another. Maybe some of them could find this useful.
 
Perhaps you have something against people who won't lift a finger and I don't blame you but keep in mind this could be a good thing for some people who aren't as able bodied as you or me. That is, people who have disabilities of one kind or another. Maybe some of them could find this useful.
You've taken my comment out of context. I have a disabled wife and my mom who is almost 100 is also very frail and I have to take care of them both so I know what it's like. What I'm referring to is the laziness of people in general. When this stuff wasn't around nobody missed it or even needed it. When one is forced to come up with an alternative plan you'd be surprised how creative some can be. Anyway, I'm not prepared to willingly hand over control of all aspects of my personal life to some tech company who sells my info to a 3rd parties just to bombard you with ad's, and that's just the surface of things. Who knows what else they do with it and who else gets to see and know about it. I value my privacy highly. If I wanted the entire to world to know all about me I would've tried to become famous in one way or another.
 
Burglars certainly won't knock this thing out of the air before it can record them. Also, I'm sure dogs won't mind this thing flying around like in the video, where the dog is super calm. I foresee this $700 device fading out of people's thoughts very quickly. Sorry...

Love the idea, but the price, size, and overall execution here is a fail.
 
You've taken my comment out of context. I have a disabled wife and my mom who is almost 100 is also very frail and I have to take care of them both so I know what it's like. What I'm referring to is the laziness of people in general. When this stuff wasn't around nobody missed it or even needed it. When one is forced to come up with an alternative plan you'd be surprised how creative some can be. Anyway, I'm not prepared to willingly hand over control of all aspects of my personal life to some tech company who sells my info to a 3rd parties just to bombard you with ad's, and that's just the surface of things. Who knows what else they do with it and who else gets to see and know about it. I value my privacy highly. If I wanted the entire to world to know all about me I would've tried to become famous in one way or another.
Well, now I did say I didn't blame you so no need to be defensive. I was mainly trying to accentuate the positive aspect of this as your comment only dwelt on the negative (which, by the way, you are entitled to do). Your second comment states your position much more clearly than your first and leaves little to misinterpret.
 
Well, now I did say I didn't blame you so no need to be defensive. I was mainly trying to accentuate the positive aspect of this as your comment only dwelt on the negative (which, by the way, you are entitled to do). Your second comment states your position much more clearly than your first and leaves little to misinterpret.
I never meant to sound defensive but I do see your point and despite what I think of all voice assistants, they are relevant in today's market and are here to stay. It's just the usual case of differing opinions.
Eg. I and a lot of others love the fact that soon automobiles will be fully autonomous yet a lot others say it's heresy and should be nipped in the bud... I'm sure you get the gist of what I'm saying in my long winded way. Either way, both VA & autonomous cars are a future way of life for all and sundry and there's absolutely nothing we as individuals can do about it, only accept it.
 
Back