A new patent from Vivo has revealed that the company might just be working on a smartphone with a very unique feature. While flying drones with cameras are already available, the brand might launch a device with a detachable camera module that can fly like a drone.
According to a LetsGoDigital report, the Chinese tech giant filed for the patent with WIPO last year, which got published on 1st July 2021. Looking at the patent images for the smartphone, it appears to have a design similar to a modern smartphone. However, its most notable feature can be seen once the detachable flying camera pops out from the bottom of the device. In other words, this flying camera is essentially housed in the handset when not in use and is not a separate peripheral.
Talking about this detachable module, the flying camera sports four propellers that make it capable of flight. It also houses a battery pack separate from the main battery from the handset and features two camera sensors on its body. Another interesting aspect regarding this flying camera is the inclusion of two infrared sensors on different sides of the module. These sensors could serve many different functions, but their primary objective is likely to keep the small drone from bumping into other objects when flying.
Meaning, this flying camera could feature an automatic follow mode where it follows the user and flies automatically. It might also support air gestures as well, but the patent filing doesn’t reveal any finer detail regarding this. Notably, the design of this flying camera resembles the Air Pix, which is a flying camera product. However, this device has a size of over 10cm, so the version from Vivo would have to be much smaller to fit inside a smartphone. Unfortunately, it is unknown if the brand is actually working on such a product, although, it does offer us a look towards unique futuristic devices that might be a reality in the next couple of years.
