Lily the original camera drone that couldn’t has been resuscitated (see related story here). Today Mota Group’s LILY division has made it official with the launch of the Lily Next-Gen, a drone in the spirit of the Lily flying camera announced in 2015 but never produced. It has also announced the Lily Reward Program, a stock incentive program exclusively for original customers of Lily Robotics.
“Lily Robotics’ vision was a fun and simple selfie drone for highly active people,” said Mota Group President Michael Faro. “We’re passionate about that ideal. People are ready for friendly and exceptionally easy to use camera drones.”
“Strong pre-orders for Lily Next-Gen helped convince us to offer a stock incentive to carry the dream into the future,” Faro added. “More than 60,000 people had backed the Lily drone. The Lily Reward Program is designed to keep the very large Lily customer base engaged as we develop additional Lily point-and-shoot drones with capabilities that appeal to a greater range of interests and applications.”
Mota Group, Inc. acquired assets of Lily Robotics in 2017, including branding, trademarks, and its customer list.
The announcements were made at Drone World Expo, a San Jose, Calif., show and conference for the drone industry.
Lily Next-Gen
Lily Next-Gen gives users most of what the Lily drone promised plus a lot more.
- With up to 18 minutes of flight time,* Lily Next-Gen records video in 4K ultra HD or 1080p via a Sony IMX 214 camera. One or two extra batteries, depending on the model, are included.
- The Next-Gen has multiple one-touch functions, including flight operations and media sharing.
- It captures follow-me video selfies using object tracking software to follow the user or another person. It can also perform continuous 360⁰ orbits around single point.
- For pilots who want to fly further, Lily Next-Gen can be flown up to 3,280 feet from its take-off point.*
- Image stabilization helps ensure smooth video footage. The camera provides a still photo resolution of 13 MP.
- The Next-Gen is flyable indoors using optic flow and ultrasonic positioning to avoid obstacles below it.
- Outdoors, geofencing and automatic return to its take-off point help keep it safe.
The Next-Gen folds to the width of a smartphone for easy travel: 8 inches long, 3 inches wide and 2 inches high. Take-off weight is 14.6 ounces. Unlike the original Lily drone specification which envisioned a two-hour recharge, the battery is user swappable for minimal downtime between flights.
Lily Next-Gen does not offer IP67 waterproofing and throw to fly, features that Lily Robotics had advertised. Lily customers surveyed preferred a longer flight time and greater affordability over those capabilities, which would have increased complexity, significantly increased cost, and reduced performance.
The Lily Reward Program
Mota Group, Inc. will offer up to 1,000,000 shares of common stock, with no payment required other than the product order, to original customers of Lily Robotics who order a Lily Next Gen. The opportunity to acquire the stock will be made only after our offering statement is qualified by the SEC.
In addition, the Lily Reward Program will provide promotional discounts and placement of the customer’s name on a “Lily Friends” web page exclusively for original customers of the Lily drone.
Lily Robotics customers may visit http://www.lily.camera/next, to indicate a no-obligation expression of interest to participate in the Lily Reward Program.
Lily Robotics customers may place an order immediately, but will not be eligible to receive Mota shares. The Lily Reward Program share giveaway cannot begin until the SEC qualifies an offering statement filed by Mota. Therefore, the program is only for orders placed after this offering statement has been qualified by the SEC and a final offering circular is sent to eligible Lily Robotics customers.
Complete terms and conditions will be available at http://www.lily.camera/next. Mota Group may suspend, terminate or modify the Lily Reward Program at any time.
Price and Availability
Lily Next-Gen will be offered in the following configurations:
Lily Next-Gen Pro: Includes the Lily Next-Gen, one spare battery (two batteries total), a set of four extra propellers, a charger, a totable padded carry case for the drone, charger, batteries and accessories that includes a separate padded protective sleeve for the drone, an owner’s manual, and a one-year product replacement limited warranty if the drone is returned to us. The MSRP for the Lily Next-Gen Pro is $699.00.
Lily Next-Gen Full Bundle: Everything in the Lily Next-Gen Pro plus a smartphone/tablet-mountable controller, two additional spare batteries (three batteries total), and a one-year flyaway replacement limited warranty if the drone is lost, which is limited to one replacement drone per customer. The MSRP for the Lily Next-Gen Full Bundle is $899.00.
Internal memory for both models is 16 Gbytes, optionally upgradable to 32 and 64 Gbytes.
Lily Next-Gen will be available at major retailers in the U.S. and worldwide in November.
*Flight time and range depend on battery condition, flight conditions, and drone operation.
Frank Schroth is editor in chief of DroneLife, the authoritative source for news and analysis on the drone industry: it’s people, products, trends, and events.
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