DJI's Spark Drone Is Even Smaller Than The Mavic Pro

DJI’s Mavic Pro may already be a small and compact quadcopter drone, but the manufacturer appears to be preparing to launch an even smaller drone. Photos of the new drone, allegedly called the Spark, have surfaced online and the device appears to possibly be an entry-level, selfie-taking drone.

The Spark first popped up on the Chinese DJI forums, but the webpage has now been shut down. Luckily, TechCrunch was able to save a few photos of DJI’s new drone and it looks like its going to be even smaller than the Mavic Pro when its propellers are extended. The Spark appears to have non-extendable arms and brushless motors.

The bottom of the Spark appears to have a plastic-like covering seemingly confirming that it will have bottom-facing sensors to provide assistance during flight. The front panel also appears to be housing additional sensors, leading to speculations that the Spark might be capable of avoiding obstacles.

As for the camera, it’s mounted on a different kind of gimbal from the Mavic Pro. The gimbal on the DJI Spark looks like it can only tilt up and down. It’s assumed that panning left and right will require users to rotate the drone itself. No information was given on the exact specifications of the camera.

A YouTube user named Sami Lou was also able to publish a short video of what looks like a prototype of the Spark. The drone wasn’t shown taking flight, but it does confirm that the camera’s gimbal can only tilt vertically.

Due to the Spark’s size, appearance and set of visible hardware features, there’s a lot of speculation as to what it’s exactly for. Some are arguing that it may be just be a more affordable drone intended for taking selfies and short videos, while some are saying that the Spark may simply be for drone racing. Both speculations are quite plausible.

DJI hasn’t officially announced the Spark, but the drone maker did trademark the name last month, as pointed out by The Verge.