“The drone industry has hit a ceiling,” writes Antigravity, a Chinese startup. “Specs keep improving on paper, yet the experience stays the same. Most drones fly higher or longer without addressing the real pain points for everyday users.” To that end, Antigravity has designed a video-capturing drone that can do what others can’t—and which lowers the barrier to entry.
The company is a spin-off from action camera manufacturer Insta360, and they’ve tapped their parent company’s tech to develop their A1 drone. It has 360 cameras top and bottom, and uses software to conceal the drone’s parts from view. It captures a completely spherical image, 360 degrees in all directions, in 8K.
The A1 is also easy to fly, via a single motion-based joystick and a pair of goggles; the company says they’ve designed “an intuitive flying experience everyone can master,” allowing for “cinematic 360 drone shots anyone can capture.” This will be disruptive. FPV drones have always required training, practice and mastery. That barrier allows the skilled to work as camera operators, whether it’s capturing action footage or conducting aerial inspections of industrial facilities.
The A1 removes that barrier, which will be good for the DIY-minded and companies seeking to save money, and terrible news for well-paid drone pilots. Capturing a complicated action sequence using a conventional drone camera takes a lot of skill, with operators concentrating on both flying and keeping the gimbal on target. With the A1’s spherical capture (and built-in obstacle avoidance), the operator only needs to focus on flight, and the director can simply choose what appears on-screen in the editing room.
The other, perhaps more significant market for the A1 is the everyday person who may have no interest in drones. A lot of people dream of having the ability of flight. The A1 offers that experience, providing an eagle-eye view without the learning curve.
The goggles track the wearer’s head motion; look up or down, or side to side, and your view changes accordingly.
The goggles themselves are rather interesting: One of the lenses is covered with an outward-facing screen, so someone looking at you can see what you’re seeing.
Included filters provide a number of Christopher-Nolan-esque effects.
At just 249g, it skirts the license required of drones weighing 250g and up. The drone takes off and lands automatically upon a single button-press. If it loses signal or starts to run out of battery life, it automatically returns to its take-off point. And to prevent misuse, the drone is equipped with a payload-detecting technology; it will refuse to fly if anything is attached to it.
Here’s the A1’s promise:
The A1 is scheduled to launch in January of 2026. The price hasn’t been announced, but industry watchers are predicting it will come in around $1,300.