Lighter Than Spark: Tello Is The Smartest Drone For Teens

Want to introduce your teen to the wonderful world of drones? We get you. The only problem is, as it probably dawned on you already, that teens are not as careful and skilled in piloting such vehicles as you are. When it comes to a $1,000 UAV that means a probable loss. Unless, they start training on a very affordable, small but very smart drone… like Tello #actionmagic

Ryze Tech has manufactured a drone with technology from Intel and DJI that’s even lighter than Spark. In fact, Tello weighs just 80 grams but has a flight time similar to Spark’ – 13 minutes. It shoots 720p video and captures 5MP photos, which – before you complain – is totally decent given the fact that Tello is selling for $99. Pre-orders are open now with the drone expected to launch next month.

What sort of tech Tello sports? Computer vision hardware from Intel, more specifically the Movidius Myriad 2 VPU which is in charge of object recognition. Also, the drone has flight stabilization tech from DJI, making it probably the smartest beginners’ drone ever.

Tello answers to hand gestures and takes flight from the outstretched palm of the pilot. During flight, you can control it via mobile app Tello, including giving it flight commands like flips and other aerial stunts. Your teen can also watch the drone’s itinerary from a third-party VR headset that works with smartphones. Live footage can be streamed to a tablet as well.

With a single tap, Tello lands and with more clicks, it can help teens learn programming through Scratch, an MIT-developed coding system.