ROAM-e Face-Recognising Drone Is A Flying Selfie Stick For $349

A hands-free selfie-stick concept sounds cool, and while I was about to label ROAM-e as your stick's potential alternative, the hefty price tag made me opine otherwise. Selfies have caught up feverishly in past couple years, and we've witnessed many great accidents that occur when people go a level too extreme to get their desired self-shot. It's futile to assume that the selfie-wave will fizzle out anytime soon, so it's only better that we make that effort a whole lot safer at least. Their is one safe solution: to allow people not use their hands and focus on their surroundings instead, while an autonomous device captures their action. ROAM-e is that very alternative, and a very good-looking one at that.


A robot, ROAM-e is a completely autonomous, flying drone. And it's only purpose is to recognise your face and follow you everywhere you go, clicking timely pictures of yourself. With a vertical-cylindrical-oriented body design, it appears to be a flying gear-stick. The wings could be easily folded against its body, making it easy to carry in a bag. The device is pretty simple to use. It launches when simply tossed in the air, and hovers in the air for a limited time.

It's a real champ when it comes to facial recognition. An iOS/Android app developed by the IOT Group sets up the facial recognition part and even defines the maximum distance the drone needs to keep from the user. Following activation of the Follow Me technology, all the user has to do is face its single-axis camera and it'll click the selfies. You can check the visuals from your smartphone itself. And in case you turn out to be too fast for the drone, it will keep flying on the same spot until you return.


The 5-megapixel camera captures decent photographs. There is also video-recording functionality available, but nothing has been stated about the video quality as yet. The removable and rechargeable battery offers 20 minutes of flight time for a single charge cycle spanning 2 hours. The retail price for ROAM-e is set at $349.

Though ROAM-e may appear to be a slightly safer option for the person using it, it's no guarantee that it's equally safe for the people who are in close vicinity to the drone. There are no details about any sensors included in the drone. Hopefully the company gives out some statement regarding this soon.

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