Insta360 plans to bring 360 cameras to drones, DJI is worried

DIY enthusiasts have been attaching 360-degree cameras to drones for years. But what if those 360-degree cameras could do more than just pan, tilt, tilt, and rotate backward?

Insta360, the maker of some of the most popular 360-degree cameras, has announced that it is building a drone that promises “live” flights thanks to a camera system with two fisheye lenses. If all goes well, the new drone will be released next month.

Insta360's mysterious drone is set to launch next month. Photo: Insta360

These new drones will be under the “Antigravity” brand. Not that they will be performing suborbital flights. Instead, they are designed to incorporate full 360-degree cameras.

Insta360 says this will enable “immersive” flights, implying that users will be able to use some kind of AR glasses — like DJI Goggles — to interact with the 360-degree camera. We can imagine if your drone flight would give you a similar perspective as if you were standing in front of the glasses on top of the Seattle Space Tower.

A typical 360-degree camera works by rotating a central sphere—with two lenses rotating 180 degrees. With the versatility of cameras, it doesn't matter which lens you're using to take a shot. This can be a boon for filmmakers who want to shoot with a drone that's tilting or circling.

Footage is typically cropped to the typical 2D aspect ratio you'd see on YouTube, although modern AR devices like the Apple Vision Pro can also play back 360-degree footage in an immersive way thanks to head tracking.

Insta360 Antigravity image leaked during a test flight. Photo Nouveaux Leaks

The Antigravity drone will weigh less than 250g, or 0.55 pounds. That's about the same weight as a DJI Mini 3S, and it's perfectly capable of flying in unrestricted areas without prior permission under Vietnamese law.

According to Insta360, the first Antigravity drone is designed to “replace the technical complexity inherent in both flying a drone and shooting 360-degree video .”

That suggests that Insta360 is planning some sort of immersive motion control similar to DJI’s motion controller. It’s unclear whether this 360 camera drone will be as capable as the company’s latest X5, although it can shoot in 8K resolution.

Insta360, the company best known for its 360 camera gear and action cameras that compete with companies like GoPro, is suddenly taking on the world's largest drone maker — DJI.