BYD cars now have an on-vehicle DJI drone launch platform

EV shaper BYD unveiled “Lingyuan,” a vehicle-mounted drone launching strategy developed successful collaboration pinch DJI that is disposable for each of the company’s vehicles, reports Chinese authorities media outlet Xinhua. The strategy is only disposable successful China, for illustration BYD’s vehicles, and costs 16,000 yuan (or astir $2,197).

BYD’s video below, reposted by YouTube transmission ShanghaiEye, has immoderate existent subject fabrication vibes: the driver taps a fastener connected their vehicle’s touch screen, and doors descent unfastened connected the apical of the car, revealing a rising landing level pinch a drone connected it. The drone is shown lifting disconnected while the EV is successful mobility successful immoderate shots, past pursuing the car down the road.

A CnEVPost story says the drones tin return disconnected and onshore “at speeds up to 25 km/h” and that they tin return automatically arsenic agelong arsenic they’re wrong 2 kilometers of the vehicle. The communicative besides says the drone tin travel astatine up to 54 kilometers per hour. The hangar charges the drone erstwhile it’s docked.

The Lingyuan acquisition value includes a DJI drone — reports don’t look to opportunity which, but the video shows a DJI Air 3S — arsenic good arsenic the roof-mounted drone hangar, and apps that activity pinch the system, according to South China Morning Post. The apps see 1 for video editing (possibly 1 of DJI’s existing apps) arsenic good arsenic 1 for “AI recognition,” whose usability isn’t specified by SCMP. Google-translated matter from BYD’s demo video revealing the strategy mentions “AI Posture recognition, Lingyuan takes photos astir the car.” It’s not clear whether BYD owners tin instal the strategy connected a conveyance themselves.

BYD and DJI collaborated successful “developing a afloat integrated strategy from the crushed up,” BYD president Wang Chuanfu said astatine a motorboat arena successful Chinese tech hub Shenzhen connected Sunday, writes SCMP. The automaker besides reportedly introduced a type of its Bao 8 SUV that comes “pre-equipped pinch the Lingyuan system.”

It’s not BYD’s first task into drone launchers. Its luxury brand, Yangwang, launched an off-road version of its U8 SUV pinch 1 attached to its tile rails, but that looks overmuch larger than the Lingyuan featured successful BYD’s video.

Lingyuan sounds a batch for illustration DJI’s Dock 3 drone-in-a-box solution meant for usage successful tasks for illustration powerfulness statement inspections aliases emergency response. The Dock 3 was the first verson of the DJI Dock to fto you motorboat the drones from a moving vehicle, but it costs rather a spot much than the Lingyuan system: it starts astatine $21,059, a value that doesn’t see installation, for a bundle pinch a DJI Matrice 4D drone.