This Indoor Reconnaissance Drone Looked Like It Came Straight Out Of A Sci-fi Movie

Remember Cleo Robotics, the drone maker company made the donut-shaped drone? Well, the company hasn’t stopped developing drones for indoor reconnaissance. In fact, the company developed a made-for-military and law enforcement agencies drone called Dronut last year, and recently, it has introduced a quieter version, called Dronut K1, for commercial applications.

Billed as the world’s bi-rotor drone, the Dronut K1 promised to deliver unparalleled performance and maneuverability in tight spaces, and thanks to its enclosed design, it is completely safe around people and sensitive equipment. In case it does bump into something, it won’t cause any serious damage and the drone itself is pretty much collision tolerant.

It claimed to be the smallest in its class to which I think the company is being humble. Like, seriously, what ‘class’? The enclosed drone is really, really not common. So uncommon that I believe there’s hardly a class for it. Dronut might as well created a class of its own.

However, Dronut K1 is definitely not the first close quarter-friendly drone. There had been a few, including the ball-like Fleye drone and the Japan Ministry of Defense’s spherical flying drone.

Obviously, being a product of 2021, Cleo Robotics Dronut K1 is without doubt way more advanced.

The Dronut K1 is outfitted with a suite of sensors including a high resolution 4K camera, a 3D LiDAR, a global shutter camera for super precise positioning, and LED lights for operation in the dark.

Oh, we forgot to mention that the drone is super small – about the size of a grown person’s hand and weighs just 15 ounces (425g).

The drone is able to live stream what it sees, thus making it perfect for inspection ducting, pipelines in tight spaces, and more.

It has a range of up to a kilometer (0.6 miles), depending on the environment. Control is via a game controller in conjunction with an Android phone.

While the Dronut K1 is decidedly futuristic, it is a good thing that it is not as creepy as the Half-life City Scanner Drone.

The Cleo Robotics Dronut X1 Imaging Drone is available to businesses who are willing to drop US$9,800 for a unit. Dronut K1 is designed and completed made in the good’ol US of A.