Let’s imagine to take a picture with your smartphone and to see a very small drone come out from it, start to fly and make an amazing panoramic picture of you. It’s the idea of Vivo and of its smartphone with built-in drone. At the moment it’s only a patent of the chinese company, but it’s unique of its kind.
The patent of the first smartphone with built-in drone
The patent dates back to the last December 2020, but only in the last two weeks the news came out, after that some rumors was able to leak.
Vivo is a chinese smartphones company that decided to make of the innovation its strong suit. The drones with built-in cameras aren’t a new, as well as it isn’t a new that, now, all of our memories are made with the smartphone, and not with a traditional camera.
But what if we will join them two, even if alone they don’t have nothing new and surprising? Probably that’s what they thought.
Like we said, at the moment it’s only a patent, but if they will be able to realize it it will be surely a surprising new and absolutely the first smartphone with built-in drone.
The patent was made, like we said, the last december to the WIPO, The World Intelletual Property Organization, with the name of “Smartphone with Flying Camera”.
How should appear the smartphone Vivo
From what we discovered in the document patented to the WIPO, they described what at first sight really seems a normal last generation smartphone.
The “flying camera”, instead, is a mini quadcopter with two built-in cameras. This might pop up from one of the side of the smartphone.
In reality there are already many drones easily controlled with the smartphone, through a simple app. The real peculiarity of this smartphone with built-in drone is the size of it. The drone must be such small and thin to be put inside the smartphone. If Vivo is really able to realize it that’s surprising.
The quadcopter of the smartphone with built-in drone
The quadcopter of this smartphone with built-in drone, or like they call it “Flying camera”, is described in the document patent to the WIPO.
It’s a mini drone with four propellers and two cameras: one looks on the top, and it’s placed in the same way of the propellers, while the other one should be on one of the side.
Therefore Vivo should introduce at least another one, or two, cameras. But we don’t know where Vivo is thinking to place them.
On the drone there will be, then, three infrared sensor for the proximity. We don’t know, instead, how Vivo would like to guarantee the stability of the drone while flying and the connection with the smartphone. But it’s very probable that, on the mini quadcopter, there will be a gyroscope and an accelerometer and a connection through Bluetooth or WiFi.
Obviusly, to complete all, this micro drone must have even a battery, to guarantee an autonomy.
What is not on the patent, instead, is how the drone will be drove. But, without any doubt, Vivo will think about a specific app to control it with the smartphone.
Possible problems in the realization of the smartphone with built-in drone
Now, like we said, even if it’s theoretically the first smartphone with built-in drone ever patented, it isn’t never realized. But is really Vivo able to realize it?
This kind of device might have many problems, on which, anyway, the buyers might overlook, because they will have on their hands an unique piece.
The first problem is, obviusly, the realization of a such small drone to be put inside the smartphone. It isn’t impossible to realize, but, maybe, the costs of this kind of device might be too high for the big audience.
The second problem is the battery of the smartphone itself. By assuming that the drone, only a couple of millimeters thin is put inside the smartphone through a side hole, by taking, so, half of the space of the phone. The remaining half will be enough to have an efficient smartphone with a great battery?
If Vivo will be able to solve these problems, the one of the price, at the end of all, will be secondary, because many people will dream about this little jewel. But will it be able to make the patent of the first smartphone with built-in drone real?
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