Jan 28 2008Neat Idea: Whirly-Gig Helicopter Camera
Designer Tsunho Wang has developed the Flying Stick, which is a whirly-gig camera. You just rub it between your palms and let go. It takes off and snaps pictures at regular intervals and even has face recognition capabilities. Well it would if it was real. Right now it's still conceptual. Pretty cool though, I really want one. Far safer than my old method of taking shots from above, which was to climb a tree or get on the roof. Although this could be dangerous in its own way. You know , if it came down in your eye.
UPDATE: I just went outside and did a little experimenting, and I think I've come up with a great solution to aerial photography. This is what you do: You borrow your roommate's camera, set the timer, and right before it goes off you throw it as high as you can. Since it's not your own camera there's no need to worry about catching it, so there's no chance of bodily harm. You just let it fall.
UPDATE: Mike -- sorry about your camera dude. I went into your room to see if you were here and I saw it smashed to bits on your desk. Someone who really hates cameras must have broken into the apartment and spotted it. I'm not totally sure but I think they may have eaten the rest of your cereal and pissed in one of your dresser drawers too.
A couple more pictures after the jump.
Flying Stick Camera [yankodesign]
Reader Comments
1. ali - January 28, 2008 5:17 PM
oh i always wanted to be first. come to austin, tx. i love you.
2. Mike - January 28, 2008 5:24 PM
poor mike.
3. guate6 - January 28, 2008 5:29 PM
Haha, good one Geekologie writer.
Not bad, not bad indeed.
4. Mike - January 28, 2008 6:38 PM
You bastard!!!! >:(
5. Bailey - January 29, 2008 2:44 AM
There's actually a flickr group dedicated to what you did with mike's camera.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/cameratoss/
6. butterbee - January 29, 2008 9:18 AM
I'm not an expert, but wouldn't there have to be some counter force keeping the camera-rod part from spinning instead of the blades?
I guess maybe a gyroscope type deal might work, but that would add a lot of weight if wasn't spinning so fast that it created a space/time rift? Can this camera take pictures of people when they're older? To see if they're gonna go bald?
7. damn luddites - January 29, 2008 10:04 AM
@butterbee
"You just rub it between your palms and let go"
the rod spins exactly with the blades. there's kids toys that are just a stick with a propeller attached - no moving parts. you spin the stick between your hands, and the thing flies up, then crashes to the ground. now just imagine that same stick with a $100 camera on the bottom. better be a damn fast shutter on that thing.