Antigravity A1 has a way of making you feel like you’re not just flying a drone, but like you’re actually in the drone you’re flying.
The Antigravity A1 is something I haven’t seen in a very long time – an entirely new type of drone. It features a 360 degree camera, and streams that panoramic image back to a headset for what is basically a real-time VR flight experience. Antigravity itself is a new drone manufacturer (essentially spun-off from Insta360), which is also an exciting development, as this space can certainly benefit from such competition.
There are numerous exciting aspects to the Antigravity A1, from its ability to capture 8K resolution video, to the immersive flight experience that it is designed to support, coupled with motion control and a whole raft of purported modern features which pilots have come to expect in drones. I had the opportunity to test the A1 a few times earlier this year, so I was extremely excited when Antigravity sent me a review unit and I had a chance to really dig into the A1 to see the full extent of what it’s capable of.8K 360 video capture in a drone is an incredible creative tool
To get a really crisp, clear panoramic 360 image, you need at least 8K resolution, and happily the Antigravity A1 delivers just that. It looks great, and the performance of the imaging of this camera is, to my eye, very similar to that of the Insta360 X5, or one of Insta360’s other recent handheld 360 cameras. It delivers a high degree of detail, even in challenging lighting conditions and relatively low light. The best experience from an image quality and transmission reliability perspective will of course be on open, brightly lit environments, but I also produced what I feel to be great results in challenging high contrast and low light conditions.
Take for example the following video, where I flew the A1 rather daringly through the fog above and below the canopy of a legacy forest in the early morning, all through thick fog lit by the rising sun. The A1 had to contend with the significant moisture in the air, the very strong light of the sun, and the dimly lit forest below. Once in the forest it was plunged into a complex environment with generally low light levels and a very bright sky overhead. These are some of the most difficult conditions possible for a 360 camera, and the A1 performed to a rather spectacular degree, only losing detail in the most extreme highlights of captured in the video.
The A1 is no slouch when it comes to still photography either, capturing highly detailed images up to 55 megapixels in size. It’s by far the best way to capture enormously wide aerial angle images in a single shot.The joy and practicality of immersive flight
When it comes to pure, unadulterated fun, there isn’t any drone quite like the Antigravity A1, particularly given how easy it is to fly. The capability to look around while wearing the goggles, regardless of where the drone is pointing, imparts a sense of realism that just isn’t there with a traditional FPV drone with a fixed field of view. Antigravity has also built in some things just for fun, such as an animated dragon positioned so that the drone pilot feels as though they themselves are riding it. It’s the first example of what is essentially an augmented reality experience in a drone. I would love to see Antigravity expand this to include actual video games, such as flying the dragon through virtual floating rings.
From a purely practical point of view, the panoramic field of view allows the user to navigate more safely. I spend a lot of time flying drones in confined spaces, and I have never felt so confident piloting a drone through complex environments. I always felt hyper-aware of my surroundings, with a wonderful sense of depth and motion. This means that when I’m flying the A1, I am always confident of how much room I have to avoid obstacles. As a result, I find navigation at speed easier than I did even with a drone such as the DJI Avata 2.
The bottom line is that the Antigravity A1 is the first drone in which I have ever felt truly present in the skies. It’s no hyperbole to say it feels like you’re really flying.Automation and sharing the experience
The Sky Path feature of the A1 enables it to fly a pre-planned route autonomously, allowing you to simply enjoy the flight without even having to think about controlling it enroute. This is also an ideal method for sharing the drone with those who don’t wish or are unable to fly themselves. Between this and the ability to show what you are seeing on the external monitor of the goggles, the A1 is by far the easiest drone experience to share with those around you.
The experience of viewing the final footage is also something special. My mother does not like VR headsets, nor has she much interest in piloting a drone, but by watching on her phone the panoramic footage I captured, she was excited to get a taste of what I experienced flying in a medium with which she is more comfortable. The finished videos, to which I’ve added music and appropriate ambient sounds, are far and away the best panoramic 360 content that I’ve yet uploaded to YouTube.
