REUTERS — The ability to capture video of your run down a mountain has come a long way. First there was shakey camcorder footage filmed by a friend. Then came GoPro, an affordable option to shoot HD video on the move. But Jason Soll of Silicon Valley based Cape Productions says the future of capturing the perfect digital memory is with flying robots.
“The first time I saw a video shot with drones I knew this was the future of being able to capture incredible experiences,” said Soll, the CEO of the company.
Cape Productions is a drone video services provider. Its business model mirrors the ‘pay for content’ platform found at amusement parks. A client signs up for a drone to film them skiing or snowboarding and then pays for a video that is emailed to them within 48 hours. The cost is just a fraction of what it would cost to buy and operate a drone personally.
According to Soll, figuring out how to make it safe for semi-autonomous drones to fly in close proximity to humans on the side of a mountain was no easy task.
“We build out these safe cinematic flight paths that we call rails that are like virtual wires that travel down the run and that ensures that the drone maintains a proper distance from the ground, proper distance from obstacles like trees, chair lifts, power lines, but also ensures that we get the perfect shot every time,” he said.
The company, which offers its drone video service at three ski resorts in North America with several more in the pipeline, has a perfect safety record. It’s the only one certified to fly around humans by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), according to Soll.
Currently a pilot ensures the drone stays on its flight path and captures the best video angles. But with more accurate GPS technology just around the corner, these drones may be operating completely on their own in the not too distant future, tracking wearable technology attached to the wrist of their designated human.
“We are working on the next generation of the wearable and will only introduce it once it met the quality level that our pilots currently maintain out in the field,” he said.
The company plans to expand their drone video services to other action sports in the coming years.
