The ROAM-e is a flying selfie camera that integrates facial recognition technology to follow you around and, supposedly, capture plenty of perfect selfies — no stick required. While the technology sounds interesting, the concept is laughable, especially when a $349 device is marketed as a glorified selfie stick.
The ROAM-e is similar to many camera drones on the market: it’s got a Megapixel CMOS Sensor along with a 360 Panorama single-axis gymbal, paired with the ROAM-e’s signature face tracking. It will stay within 3 metres to capture footage, and tethers straight to your smartphone. It has a flight time of up to 20 minutes, with a fast-charging swappable battery. Aside from being a ‘selfie’ device, the ROAM-e is also capable of capturing 360 degree panoramas and live streaming (though info on how the latter will work and with what is fairly scarce).
When it comes right down to it, the technology is interesting — it’s a compact, decently affordable camera drone with face-tracking technology. It looks like it could be a good tool for individual content creators and people making travel videos who don’t have the luxury of getting someone else to film for them. However by marketing it as a ‘flying selfie’ well… let’s just say that releasing it so close to April 1 was a bit of a mistake. Still, it may yet turn out to be as popular (and even more annoying) as the ubiquitous selfie stick is now. You never know!
You can pre-order a flying selfie device here for $349.