According to SonyAlphaRumors, Sony has been quietly developing and patenting a “flying camera” drone over the past few years. While not much is known about the project, the published patents show some interesting features on the device.
SAR first spotted a drone patent back in late 2018. After months of silence, Sony filed another patent in October 2019 and published January 2020 with more details on the design and capabilities.
When the drone is folded up and in its “shell,” it has the form factor of a bulky compact camera. To get the drone up in the air, you first take off the backing cover, which turns out to be the drone’s remote control and display. The rotors rotate out of the body of the drone in the four corners.
Controlling the drone could be done through finger gestures on the controllers touchscreen. When you need to shoot a group photo, you can simply have the drone automatically launch from your palm, fly a short distance away, capture a nicely-framed group photo, and then return to your palm.
If you want a full look at the patent, click here.
(Original Article on PetaPixel)