The rumored DJI FPV drone is almost certainly nearing its official launch – and now a new leaked photo has given us our clearest look so far of what we can expect.
Last week, DJI Enterprise – the drone company's business-focused arm – shared an invite for a launch that's taking place on December 15, and we feared this may mean the FPV (First Person View) drone could actually be for industrial uses like agriculture, rather than filmmakers and hobbyists.
But the new leaked image (below) shared by regular DJI leaker @OsitaLV on Twitter shows that the DJI FPV drone is more likely to be a different product that could launch at a later date.
Clear shot! pic.twitter.com/pJsyWimdP6December 13, 2020
The photo gives us a clear view of the drone we saw previously in leaked packaging for a DJI FPV Combo drone. It shows a drone with a large, gimbal-stabilized camera, which would be an unusual feature for a racing drone – instead, as we've previously speculated, this unprotected camera suggests the drone could be for shooting videos like 'cinewhoops' (dynamic, high-speed aerial videos), like the one in the video below.
Beyond the large camera, the DJI FPV drone (which has FPV printed on the side) has large vents on the hump and on the side, which would likely be there to help prevent overheating on a drone that's rumored to be able to hit speeds of 93mph.
Pit Stop ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/Vfp6lqwRj3November 26, 2020
Another clue that this drone is for filmmakers and beginners, rather than hardcore drone racers, is the apparent inclusion of two obstacle avoidance sensors below the main camera. While it's hard to be too conclusive about those two dots, they do look similar to the front-facing obstacle-detecting sensors seen on other DJI drones like the DJI Mavic 2 Pro.
If DJI is indeed launching a speedy, consumer-focused FPV drone, it'll no doubt be thinking carefully about safety. While automatic obstacle avoidance is difficult to achieve at high speeds, DJI would almost certainly include some assistance on these lines, along with features like geofencing to help restrict where it can be flown.
In a separate Tweet, @OsitaLV also claimed that the "DJI FPV drone has silent props as well", which means its propellers could also be designed to limit the annoying loud buzzing that's common with high-speed drones.
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Cleared for takeoff?
The growing regularity of these DJI FPV drone leaks, plus its registration with US regulators last week, does suggest a launch is getting closer, though it's hard to say exactly when that will be.
Still, the good news for those who have been looking forward to seeing a consumer-focused DJI FPV drone is that the new leaked photo does appear to show a different product to the one seen in the recent DJI Enterprise launch announcement for December 15 (above).
That means we could well see another product, perhaps a new dual camera for a DJI Enterprise drone, arrive on December 15, followed by a consumer-focused DJI FPV drone in early 2021.
The new drone is likely to be accompanied by a new remote controller and FPV headset called the DJI FPV Goggles 2, as both of these were included in the FPV drone's registration with US regulators.
If that's the case, it may well be a pricey, self-contained system that differs from DJI's current Digital FPV system for drone racers. Given DJI's focus on filmmaking rather than drone racing, it may well be aimed at filmmakers looking to produce dynamic scenes like the recent one from DJI above. But we're going to have to wait for DJI to put an end to the rumors with an official launch before we know for sure.
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