Chinese tech giant Tencent and Shenzhen-based Xirodrone, partnered to launch the selfie drone “Ying” at CES 2016, Tencent digital reported on Friday.
“Ying” means shadow. The highlight of the drone is that it is only palm-sized with automatic photo-enhancing features. The new product will target young, selfie-loving social network users, rather than tech-obsessed geeks. The drone is expected to hit the market in the first half of this year.
The drone is foldable and easy to operate. It is palm-sized after storage and weighs less than 450g, so can be easily stored in a backpack. Ying is able to be operated through a mobile app, making use of the gravity sensor and touch screen controls of most smartphones. Users can operate it one-handed.
Tencent Interactive Entertainment Department is responsible for marketing the drone and software development, while Xirodrone handles hardware development and manufacturing.
Social network functions will be the drone’s other focus. The palm-sized drone will let users beautify their photos and share them on China’s largest social networks, WeChat and QQ.