Flying cars could soon be a reality

From flying cars to personal drones that can fly upto 2kms, in this week`s gadgets section we have covers a wide variety of products.

Some of the products such as the Virtual reality headset and the Iris mouse scanner were featured during the recent Gitex Technology week in Dubai.

Aeromobil – The Flying Car

The flying car is finally here. After years of concept and prototype development, a Slovekian firm has finally got the covers off what could be termed as the world`s first flying car at an exhibition in Austria.

The two seater vehicle is powered by a four-cylinder Rotax engine and can drive up to a top speed of 160 km per hour and fly at a speed of 200kms per hour.

According to Juraj Vaculík, co-founder and CEO of the vehicle just it takes a few seconds to transform it from an automobile to a flying machine.

“As a car it fits into any standard parking space, uses regular gasoline, and can be used in road traffic just like any other car. As a plane it can use any airport in the world, but can also take off and land using any grass strip or paved surface just a few hundred meters long.,” the company`s description reads. 

The vehicles`s body and wings are all made of composite material and in the next level will be fully operational with avionics equipment, autopilot and an advanced parachute deployment system.

Parrot Beebop Drone

After successfully launching the AR Drone and in 2010, French firm Parrt will soon start retailing their latest toy the BeeBop Drone specifically aimed at the consumer market.

The new device lays specific emphasis on better quality photos and video recording.

The device is equipped with a 14 megapixel "fisheye" camera, and records videos and pictures in a 180° field with digital image stabilization technology built in.

The device is eight times more powerful than the AR Drone and features a Parrot P7 dual-core CPU, quad-core GPU and 8 GB of Flash Memory, fixed on a magnesium shelf that acts as electromagnetics shielding and as a radiator.

Users buying an optional Skycontroller  can fly the drone to upto 2 kms away and using on Oculus rift virtual reality headset can have a first hand view from the camera lens.

In case of emergency, propellers automatically stop . The emergency mode enables the Drone to land immediately. The GPS tracker activates the return home function brings the device back to its take-off point.

HTC – Re

Last week HTC unveiled its all new gadget – a standalone sports and action camera – the Re. One look at the device and you will mistake in to an inhaler. But the Re is HTC`s attempt to make you shoot images or videos without looking at the viewfinder. The handheld camera has a

cylindrical design, made to fit your hand, and features a built-in grip sensor that instantly activates the camera on pick up.

A single click shoots an image while long press for video recording. The 16MP CMOS sensor is capable of recording Full HD (1080p) video recording, 146 degree wide-angle lens and it even allows a user to slow-motion and time lapse recording,

YouTube Video

Connect it to your smartphone via Bluetooth to use it as a remote live viewfinder. Use can even opt to choose to save the images either on the device – it comes with 8GB internal storage - or on the smartphone or directly on to the cloud.

According to HTC users can also use the device to live stream their videos, although the facility is you to be incorporated. The company released an API for the developer community to custom build apps. The device is water resistant and can go upto one meters deeo for almost 30 minutes. The battery lasts for almost 2 hours of continuous recording although an additional battery pack with enhance it by several additional hours.

HTC has also released several accessories that can be used to fix the camera either to a bicycle, clipped on to a shirt, or used for diving deeper.

The device will be launched here in the UAE sometime next month and could be priced around Dh1000.

Iris Mouse scanner

French company IRIS Link was showcasing during the recent Gitex Technology week in Dubai a small little device that could be of use while travelling and even to business and home users who would like to scan on the go.

The mouse apart from being used as a regular pointer device works like a traditional scanner. Just move the device on any item, be it a newspaper or even a business card and the device will scan it for you.

The video here demonstrates exactly how the device can be used. 

The OCR technology allows easy editing of the scanned text and even exporting it into Word or Excel. The device comes with various colour options.  The device will be priced around Dh250.

Virtual Reality

UAE retailer Merlin recently launched its own version of the Oculus Rift and called it the Immersive 3D VR Glasses. The device functions only in association with a smartphone and plays the 3D content stored on the device to create a 360 degree angle.

According to the company the device can also be used to watch movies and play games stored in your smartphone.

The Immersive 3D Glasses can be used with all smartphones that are longer than 4 inches.

All you have to do is strap-on frame and fit in the mobile device and you are ready to go.

The company ash already created some specific local content to enable the experience. It recently releasd a full 360 degree video of the Atlantis. It had shot a video of the downtown earlier.

The device is priced at around Dh375. But for those who want a similar experience and do not want to spend so much there is always a cardboard device called Google cardboard. As google itself puts it the idea is to enable everyone to experience virtual reality. Although Merlin has priced the cardboard device at Dh99, you can just log on to the Google Card board website to build one of your own.]

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