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LingYuan Vehicle Roof Drones Now Available, ala Blade Runner 2049
LingYuan debuts the world's first drone that is built into the roof of your car- extending your visual reach far beyond the windows of your vehicle
Chinese automaker BYD has just released a new feature that feels ripped from the pages of a sci-fi movie: a roof-mounted drone docking station. It’s called the Ling Yuan system..The system will cost you ¥16,000 ($2,200), but that price tag buys you a 4K drone, a sleek docking station, and the ability to capture stunning aerial footage of your daily commute.
The Ling Yuan system was developed in collaboration with Chinese drone maker DJI. It includes a 4K drone and a docking station, covering an area of 0.29 m2 (3.1 square feet) on the roof of the vehicle. This drone hangar has an aerodynamic shape and measures 215 mm (8.5 inches) tall.
Once you press that magic button, the roof opens, and the platform lifts, letting the drone soar to the skies. And here’s where it gets really cool: You can deploy and control the drone while the car is in motion—up to 25 km/h (16 mph). Then, the drone can follow the vehicle at speeds of up to 54 km/h (34 mph) to capture the perfect footage, whether you’re cruising down a highway or navigating off-road trails.
(Via carscoops)
The LingYuan system allows the drone to take off and land from the roof of your car under all conditions:
(LingYuan vehicle roof drone)
Fans of Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 recall the opening sequence that shows just how handy it can be if your (flying) car also has an obedient drone that can lift off from the roof.
(Blade Runner 2049 roof drone)
The opening sequence of the film:
(Blade Runner 2049 Car with drone in roof)
The idea that a flying eye in the sky can be a helpful companion is an idea with a long history in science fiction. Here's a small selection: the scarab robot flying insect from The Scarab (1936) by Raymond Z. Gallun ,the artificial eye drone from Glimpse (1938) by Manly Wade Wellman, eyes from This Moment of the Storm (1966) by Roger Zelazny, the Ultraminiature Spy-Circuit from The Unknown (1972) by Christopher Anvil, copseyes from Cloak of Anarchy (1972) by Larry Niven, the sky ball from A Day For Damnation (1985) by David Gerrold, the drone floater camera from Runaway (1985) by Michael Crichton, the aerostat monitor from The Diamond Age (1995) by Neal Stephenson, the loiter drone from The Algebraist (2004) by Iain Banks and the bee cam from City of Pearl (2004) by Karen Traviss.
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