There is a real hype about drones out there. One of the most innovative is Zano: the ultra-portable little selfie-maker owns several features which make it stand out. Unlike many other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), Zano is very small, offers sophisticated technology like swarming and obstacle avoidance and most importantly: Zano retails for a price that makes it attractive to people who are not photographers or filming professionals. The tiny UAV can be purchased for less than 300 Euro. Zano was developed by Torquing Group from Wales, United Kingdom – a company that has extensive experience in robotics. Reece Crowther, the Marketing Director of Torquing Group, reports about how Zano was created, what the key technologies are and what comes next.
When did you first think about developing a drone for the consumer market?
Reece Crowther: Torquing started in 1990 as a research and development team supporting and consulting bigger companies. We always had a huge interest in robotics and in 2009 we received a contract to develop drones from the ground up. This included everything from hardware to the operating system and when the contract ended in 2013, we had all this crazy technology in our hands. So the only question for us was: how to bring this technology to the market? That’s when the Zano “Selfie-Drone” came in to our minds – a drone easy to use delivering great aerial pictures and videos for everyone.
What have been the key challenges when developing Zano?
R.C.: We started from scratch; everything within Zano is developed by Torquing. A key challenge was to achieve the goal of building a truly scalable platform, which could be used to build tiny drones like Zano up to really big UAVs. Another key concern was the operating system. For Zano we had the goal to build a really small device, which offers all the sophisticated features and technologies like bigger UAV systems. We worked on this for six years and we’re there now!
What’s inside making this tiny UAV so special?
R.C.: Zano isn’t a drone, it’s a flying action camera! And as such, there is no competition out there right now. While other drones are to be handled like drones and need a certain level of skill to steer them, Zano doesn’t. Everyone who can use a smartphone can use our drone. It’s for everyone. It flies on its own, follows you and avoids obstacles delivering stunning aerial footage. At the same time, Zano is one of the smallest and most portable consumer drones out there – it’s as easy to carry along as your over-ear headphones are.
What possible areas of application do you envision for drones in the consumer market besides video and photo in the future?
R.C.: Our platform is very flexible and scalable; this means we are able to build larger drones which can carry additional equipment. This opens up an incredible amount of possibilities. You could map areas of interest with a radar sensor, use thermal imaging to detect gas leaks, check your solar panels or use a drone for surveillance and home security.
What should one know and pay attention to when buying a drone to take videos and pictures?
R.C.: It is a great new technology – my advice is to respect the privacy of others. Just because you are now capable to see what your neighbors are having on their barbecues, doesn’t mean you should. However, I encourage everyone to try drones, to have fun with them and to enjoy all the creative new possibilities they offer!
What do you like most about drones?
R.C.: Have you ever imagined a swarm of drones, which you could control easily with just one device searching for missing persons in a huge area with minimal effort? Or drones delivering pictures live from sports events such as Formula 1 from all kinds of angles or even a full overview of the racetrack? I mean how cool would that be! Drones offer so many possibilities and space for innovation it’s incredible. They will be great tools in the future and we are only at the beginning of what’s possible.
Torquing is very active in its local community – what makes this so important for you and what comes next here?
R.C.: We want to give something back. Wales and the people in this area have always supported us. Now we want to help kids in the area to develop interest and passion for technology, show them what’s possible and help them to get the education and opportunities to make a difference on their own.
(picture credits: Torquing Group)