We expect it to be even more responsive and easier to use with every iteration.”įuture firmware updates may help the problem. I reached out to DJI about my problems getting gesture controls to work overall, and they emailed this response: “This is groundbreaking drone control technology, and our engineers are refining the firmware based on the results of their tests as well as feedback from the first round of testers like you. (If you want to feel cool, hang out near a high school and wave your arms frantically at a drone hovering overhead for a while.) In practice, I found the Spark often lost track of my palm, and waving it away for an aerial shot, or getting it to return, had about a 25 percent success rate. Hold your arms up and wave it back, and it’ll return to you, ready to land in the palm of your hand. Wave at the drone, and it’ll move about ten feet back and eight feet up, allowing for more aerial shots - and also follow you obediently around. Make your thumb and index finger on each hand form a rough rectangle, and the drone will take a snapshot. When it works, it’s incredibly fun - it feels a bit like playing with a pet. Hold up the palm of your hand and wait for the Spark to recognize it, and you can control the drone - waving your hand up and down, to the left or right, pushing it away or pulling it toward you.

It’s propellers will whir into motion, and you can set it gently aloft, where it hovers in place. Hold the drone in the palm of your hand, double tap the power button at the back, and wait for the drone to recognize your face. Which brings us to DJI’s biggest gee-whiz feature: gesture control. And you can launch it right from the palm of your hand in about ten seconds from powering up to being in the air. There are other drones at similar prices points, but none with the features and camera quality you’re getting with the Spark. It’s cheap for DJI: Starting at $499, it’s half the price of the $999 Mavic Pro. After spending some flight time with the Spark, I don’t think it fully delivers on that promise - but I still think there are plenty of people who should pick one up. And after watching its flashy debut at Grand Central Terminal here in New York a few weeks ago, I thought perhaps that something like a flying selfie stick had finally arrived. The DJI Spark, shipping June 15, is small, light, and intriguing - and just $499. It would easily follow you around, and snap pics of you (preferably from those flattering downward-looking angles). Something that would launch quickly and quietly.

Judging from Kickstarter, there is this dream of a “selfie drone.” It would be something small, light, and easy to carry. The DJI Spark lifting off next to an issue of New York.

Cut fingers on dji spark