Aerotrain‘s Skye is a big helium balloon with propellers that can be branded and flown around like a drone. It can also carry cameras.
If you wonder where we’re going with this, it’s simple. Though drones are effective at giving aerial views of stories, this is the more likely future for the unmanned vehicles than delivering packages (thousands of drones flying packages around a city? Really?) or replacing traffic helicopters at news stations (with a 400 ft. ceiling?).
“Unique safety features enable [the Skye] to fly over crowded places and closely approach people,” says the company’s website. “The visibility leads to a friendly appearance and can be used to depict a product for advertising purposes and even take its shape. Scaleable payloads enable Skye to carry heavy cameras for live streams and aerial cinematography.”
Think about it. Promo departments can add station branding to the skin of the drone, fly it around and not worry about it hurting someone if it crashes.
[gizmodo]