Skydio Releases More Test Footage From Upcoming Drone

The Skydio 2 is coming, and the more teasers we see from the California manufacturer, the more excited we get for the launch.

In July we reported that a new Skydio drone is coming this Fall. The company didn’t say much at the time apart from advising would-be buyers to wait for the new release.

The team also promised that the Skydio 2 will be “the culmination of everything we’ve learned from our first drone and all of the feedback we’ve received from our first customers. We’ve listened closely and worked tirelessly to build something that truly redefines what a drone can do, opening up new possibilities in aerial video.”

This week the company has released further test footage from the Skydio 2, alongside a statement that suggests the aim of the new drone is to give pilots greater confidence when attempting tricky manoeuvres.

Read more: Watch: Cinematic Footage from Skydio’s New Drone

So long, stressful drone flights?

One of those manoeuvres is flying backwards around obstacles. In the clip above, the Skydio 2 is able to reverse at full speed while avoiding trees in a forest and cars in a warehouse. The warehouse shot is spectacular, and perhaps a precursor to the kind of aerial possibilities cinematographers will be keen to unlock with the Skydio 2.

As promising and sophisticated as the technology clearly is, it’s really trying to solve a very simple problem: “Flying a drone can be fun, but it’s rarely relaxing – in fact, it’s often terrifying,” wrote Skydio CEO Adam Bry in an email sent out today.

“The same advanced AI in Skydio 2 that enables the fully autonomous cinematic shots that we’ve previously shared also redefines the experience when you want a little more control.

We’ve been hard at work extending the reach of our latest drone, giving you ways to get the control you want without the stress of crashing. The result is you can fly in ways, and get shots, that would simply be impossible any other way. How about flying through obstacles at full speed, backwards?”