China’s largest Internet service portal, Tencent, is teaming up with chipmaker Qualcomm and drone-maker Zerotech to field the Ying drone, a flying robot that’s optimized for online sharing.
“This drone allows you to fly around, capture video and then share it directly with social media sites,” Qualcomm CEO Steven Mollenkopf said today during a sneak peek at the International CES show in Las Vegas.
Ying is built around Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Flight control platform, which can capture and correct video in 1080p or 720p resolution, depending on the perspective. The video can be uploaded or streamed directly to Tencent’s social media platforms, Wexin (a.k.a. WeChat) and QQ, the three companies said in a news release.
Snapdragon Flight is an array of circuitry that’s designed specifically for recreational drones and robotic applications. Qualcomm says the package offers GPS and 4K video as well as robust capabilities for autonomous or smartphone-controlled flight.
Qualcomm Technologies’ senior vice president, Raj Tallun, said “consumer drones are becoming the ultimate selfie camera, but with advanced capabilities.”
The Ying drone is scheduled to be available globally during the first half of 2016. There was no immediate word on pricing.
Mollenkopf touched on the Ying project and Snapdragon Flight briefly during a wide-angle scan of Qualcomm’s initiatives for CES – but it’s clear that drone platforms will be a new frontier, if not a new battleground, for the top players in tech.
Qualcomm’s chief rival, Intel, announced on Monday that it’s acquiring Ascending Technologies, a German-based company that manufactures a range of drones based on Intel’s RealSense platform.
