Reviews |DJI Goggles: price, release date, specs confirmed

DJI Goggles: price, release date, specs confirmed

DJI Goggles: price, release date, specs confirmed
News

DJI has officially announced its new first-person view system, introducing the DJI Goggles – price tag £499 / €549 – with a release date set for May 20, 2017.

Designed for drone pilots, DJI Goggles employ a pair of high-definition screens each with a long-range and low-latency wireless connectivity that enables direct control of photo and video capture.

The company says its DJI Goggles work by using a beam splitter to display an image in front of each eye. And it uses polarization to prevent the images overlapping. This creates full HD (1920 x 1080px) resolution per screen.

To offer some comparison, DJI says that wearing its first-person view system is akin to staring at a 216in home cinema screen placed about three metres away.

What’s more, you can connect up to two pairs of DJI Goggles to one Mavic Pro drone, and the FPV can receive video data directly from the drone bypassing the controller to minimize lag.

DJI also says that via an onboard Micro SD Card, pilots can download files from their drone to the Goggles or review video files on the spot. And HDMI input allows the DJI Goggles to connect to a video device for watching films and even playing video games.

With the Mavic Pro, DJI Goggles offers both 720p at 60fps and close range 1080p at 30fps viewing with latency down to 110ms.

Other features include a touchpad on the side of the visor allowing pilots to navigate the internal menu system and access key flight features on the DJI Mavic Pro or Phantom 4 series drones.

These flight features include modes such as ActiveTrack, TapFly, Terrain Follow, Cinematic Mode and Tripod Mode.

Perhaps the coolest feature is the DJI Goggles’ Head Tracking technology, which allows pilots using a Mavic Pro or Phantom 4 series aircraft to control the aircraft using simple head movements to control both the aircraft yaw and camera tilt.

DJI says that turning your head is like moving the control sticks – turn left or right to yaw left or right, and straighten your head to stop the turn.

Another option is using DJI Goggles to control the gimbal exclusively, while the aircraft operator maintains control of the aircraft with the master controller.

As well as the first-person view, DJI Goggles also let pilots switch to a third-person view. Pilots can even wear the Goggles inside and quit first-person mode instantly by flipping the visor up so they can see the aircraft and their surroundings.

You can also detach the screen and headband to make it more compact for storing.

DJI Goggles Price & Release Date

The DJI Goggles price tag sits at £499 (€549), with a release date set for May 20, 2017.

DJI: we can’t wait to see how third parties will develop Mavic’s features for new applications

DJI interview: we’re working to ensure regulations on drone use are balanced and appropriate