Chinese consumer drone maker DJI has turned to Movidius to provide  the vision-aided flight system for its Phantom 4 aircraft, with the chips created at Movidius design offices in Dublin.

The Movidius vision processor debuted in DJI’s flagship Phantom 4, giving it the ability to sense and avoid obstacles in real time and hover in a fixed position without the need for a GPS signal. The agreement between the California-based tech company and the Chinese drone maker is an industry first in making advanced visual guidance systems a standard feature for consumer drones.

DJI developed specialised algorithms in spatial computing and 3D depth sensing. When coupled with the Movidius Myriad 2 visual processor, this gives the Phantom 4 drone the ability to sense and avoid obstacles in real time, meaning more autonomous flight functions, and improved awareness of flight space while in the air. Other visual intelligence features include improved vision-based tracking modes and advanced mapping capabilities.

Paul Pan of DJI said: “Movidius’ vision processor, Myriad 2, met the rigorous requirements we set for our flagship product, and we look forward to continued collaboration with Movidius as we push the boundaries in the drone market.”

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COO Sean Mitchell of Movidius added: “DJI has set the direction for the future of the drone market and we are excited to incorporate Movidius’ low power artificial vision intelligence technology into DJI drones.

“Moving the technology from demonstration to highly reliable production stage was a tremendous effort for both DJI and Movidius. The Phantom 4 launch represents a milestone for the future of visually aware devices. We believe we are entering the golden age of embedded computer vision and our technology has placed Movidius at the forefront of this trend.”

DJI develops drone and camera technology for commercial and recreational use. DJI’s global operations span North America, Europe and Asia, and its products are used in over 100 countries for applications in film, advertising, construction, fire fighting, farming, and many others.

Movidius creates high performance, ultra-low power computer vision technology for connected devices. By marrying software algorithms to a powerful VPU, Movidius brings visual intelligence to smart devices including drones, robots, AR/VR devices and security systems.

Photo: Movidius founders Sean Connolly (right) and David Moloney. (Pic: Maxwell Photography)