DJI's Spark is a hand-gesture controlled drone

Popular drone maker DJI has announced Spark, an easy-to-use, fun-to-fly mini camera drone, that is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. It can be controlled by hand gestures, and users can launch, guide, take photos, shoot videos and land the drone without using remote control.

When Spark takes off from you hand, it automatically enters Gesture mode. It features a new advanced gesture controls like PalmControl, which lets users control Spark with hand movements.  You can even simply send off the drone and take your selfie, and call it back with just your hands.

There's a new QuickShot Intelligent Flight Mode, that will allow the Spark to fly along a preset flight path while recording a short video and tracking a subject along the way. These modes include Rocket (sending Spark straight up into the air with the camera pointed down), Dronie (flying up and away from your subject), Circle (rotating around the subject) and Helix (spiraling away from a subject as it flies upward). Each QuickShot will enable the Spark to automatically create a 10-second video that is ready to be shared on social media. 

DJI has also introduced two new modes for the Spark: Pano and ShallowFocus. In Pano Mode, the camera creates horizontal or vertical panoramas by automatically adjusting its gimbal and heading, taking a series of pictures and stitching them together. ShallowFocus allows you to put part of a picture into sharp focus while the rest of the image is softened, creating photographs with a shallow depth of field. It also features TapFly and ActiveTrack modes as well, that is found on DJI's other drone models.

The drone's FlightAutonomy system consists of the main camera, a downward-facing vision system, a forward facing 3D sensing system, dual-band GPS and GLONASS, a high-precision inertial measurement unit, and 24 powerful computing cores. These features allow Spark to hover accurately with vision system assistance at up to 98 feet (30 meters) and sense obstacles from up to 16 ft (5 m) away. It also allows for 720p real-time video transmission from up to 2 km away.

In terms of specification, Spark includes two-axis gimbals that can help stabilize images, 1/2.3" CMOS sensor that captures 12MP photos and shoots stabilized 1080p videos. It packs high-energy density LiPo battery and has a maximum flight time of up to 16 minutes. It weighs 300g and is small enough to fit any bag.

Using the optional remote controller, you can switch the drone to Sport mode, and Spark's speed potential go up to 31 mph (50 kph). It is also compatible with DJI Goggles for an immersive FFPV flight experience. 

The Spark will be available in five different colors: Alpine White, Sky Blue, Meadow Green, Lava Red, and Sunrise. Pricing starts at $499 for the basic package, that includes the drone, a battery, a USB charger and three pair of propellers. There's a Spark Fly More Combo priced at $699, and includes the drone, two batteries, four pairs of propellers, a remote controller, propeller guards, a charging hub, a shoulder bag and all necessary cables. It will be available for pre-order at store.dji.com, authorized dealers, and flagship stores in mid-June.