Epson Launches First Full Featured AR App for DJI Drones

Moverio Smart Glass maker Epson has just released a new app for DJI pilots who fly with their augmented reality glasses – and with it, pilots will have access to a full suite of AR features to enhance the flying experience.

DJI pilots have had a week of excitement, what with the release of the new Mavic s Pro and Zoom, and the launch of the Drone Soar app for DJI pilots today can only add to that.

The Epson Drone SoAR app works with the Moverio BT300 Drone Edition smart glasses, and delivers to pilots access to in-flight AR content such as flight telemetry data and video feed monitoring.

The Moverio BT300 smart glasses

What this means is that for pilots, the flying experience now comes with ability to see what’s happening in-flight, without the need to look down at the remote.

While wearing the smart glasses, vital stats such as flight status, altitude and battery level are there to check as needed.

There’s also a pretty cool ‘Find My Drone’ feature that shows a small arrow pointing towards the DJI drone’s location in the sky.

Additionally, pilots can download maps meaning that even when offline, they can be certain of their position in the landscape.

Designed in collaboration with DJI, the app has been developed for the Japanese electronics company by Silicon Valley-based mobile product development company YML, who are also responsible for the Home Depot online channels as well as North Face’s Basecamp.

With increasing numbers of drones reaching global skies, the app offers not only an enhanced experience for pilots, but also increased safety and productivity.

To that end, Epson and YML have eliminated wherever possible the need to use the trackpad for core flight operations.

“By combining the power of augmented reality delivered by the Epson Moverio BT-300 AR smart glasses and YML’s superlative design, the heads-up app is redefining the way drone enthusiasts experience their aircraft,” Romsin Oushana of DJI Partnerships said in a press release.

“Available to the consumer market for the first time, the app enables users to push the limits of drone piloting in ways that have never been done before.”

A full list of features for the Epson SoAR app are:

• Downloadable Map: User can select the region of the map they want to download for offline usage¹
• Pre-Flight Status Check: Notifies users of flight restrictions or if something needs to be changed before takeoff
• Drone Connect: Easily accessible view of drone vitals including flight status, battery, HD mode, altitude and more
• Smart Mode: Users can select and switch between over ten smart modes for desired flight experience²
• In-flight Camera Setting Editing: Enable users to edit camera settings of drone while inflight or when connected to select optimal settings for shooting conditions