 Whenever Tobin Fisher talks about SNAP, he calls it a flying camera. Drone has this sort of militaristic connotation and it means something that's brainless. The new gadget he and his company, Vantage Robotics, have designed is definitely smart, whatever you want to call it. The sale of aerial robots equipped with high definition cameras has exploded over the last three years, but they still present an intimidating challenge for the average consumer. The learning curve can be steep, flying is inherently perilous, and it's easy to make a small mistake when you're handling something with high speed rotors. SNAP solves that last problem with an ingenious design. Borrowing from bridge builders and bicycle wheels, it has encased the rotors on its drone in a shield that covers everything but the very top. So obviously if I did this with your average drone, I would slice open my face. I have sliced open many a finger, but the nice thing about this design is that you're protected from the rotors. Definitely makes it a lot more accessible, kid-friendly, consumer-friendly, etc. Another issue with most drones is how bulky and unwieldy they are. The SNAP fits easily into a small backpack. It uses magnetic connectors and a detachable fuel silage to craft a form factor that slips easily into a small backpack, even a large purse. It's incredibly light and easy to assemble, but despite that small size, managed to pack in a three-axis gimbal which stabilizes the camera during flight. You can pilot the SNAP with a traditional RC controller, a Bluetooth game controller, or a mobile app that connects through Wi-Fi. In our testing, the game controller worked well and the app was decent if a little imprecise. I had a terrible experience with the Para Bebop, which also relies on a mobile app and Wi-Fi, but didn't experience any disconnections during my limited testing with the SNAP. The SNAP, like many new drones, tries to simplify the experience of flying by offering pre-programmed shots that are easy to execute with just a few taps on your screen. So for a droney, you set the distance, drag in the direction you want to fly, click a button and it executes the mission. It uses a LIDAR system to sense objects around it and avoid collisions, moving away from our cameraman as he stepped in for a close-up. Vantage is launching a pre-order campaign today and hopes to ship its first units to customers in the spring of 2016. The one we saw was clearly still a prototype. But that accident actually highlighted a unique feature of the SNAP. Its magnetic and modular design breaks apart in impact, dispersing the energy and keeping all the pieces intact. We pop the magnet back in, snap the unit together and we're flying just fine a few minutes later. After spending an afternoon with the SNAP, I'm really excited to see the finished product. It's made dramatic improvements on the portability and safety of the average consumer drone, while retaining a stabilized camera and good battery life. If Vantage can iron out the kinks and start to deliver consistent flight performance, the SNAP is poised to be a very attractive new offering in the drone... Sorry, flying camera market.
 Whenever Tobin Fisher talks about SNAP, he calls it a flying camera.
 Drone has this sort of militaristic connotation and it means something that's brainless.
 The new gadget he and his company, Vantage Robotics, have designed is definitely smart,
 whatever you want to call it.
 The sale of aerial robots equipped with high definition cameras has exploded over the last
 three years, but they still present an intimidating challenge for the average consumer.
 The learning curve can be steep, flying is inherently perilous, and it's easy to make
 a small mistake when you're handling something with high speed rotors.
 SNAP solves that last problem with an ingenious design.
 Borrowing from bridge builders and bicycle wheels, it has encased the rotors on its drone
 in a shield that covers everything but the very top.
 So obviously if I did this with your average drone, I would slice open my face.
 I have sliced open many a finger, but the nice thing about this design is that you're
 protected from the rotors.
 Definitely makes it a lot more accessible, kid-friendly, consumer-friendly, etc.
 Another issue with most drones is how bulky and unwieldy they are.
 The SNAP fits easily into a small backpack.
 It uses magnetic connectors and a detachable fuel silage to craft a form factor that slips
 easily into a small backpack, even a large purse.
 It's incredibly light and easy to assemble, but despite that small size, managed to pack
 in a three-axis gimbal which stabilizes the camera during flight.
 You can pilot the SNAP with a traditional RC controller, a Bluetooth game controller,
 or a mobile app that connects through Wi-Fi.
 In our testing, the game controller worked well and the app was decent if a little imprecise.
 I had a terrible experience with the Para Bebop, which also relies on a mobile app and
 Wi-Fi, but didn't experience any disconnections during my limited testing with the SNAP.
 The SNAP, like many new drones, tries to simplify the experience of flying by offering pre-programmed
 shots that are easy to execute with just a few taps on your screen.
 So for a droney, you set the distance, drag in the direction you want to fly, click a
 button and it executes the mission.
 It uses a LIDAR system to sense objects around it and avoid collisions, moving away from
 our cameraman as he stepped in for a close-up.
 Vantage is launching a pre-order campaign today and hopes to ship its first units to
 customers in the spring of 2016.
 The one we saw was clearly still a prototype.
 But that accident actually highlighted a unique feature of the SNAP.
 Its magnetic and modular design breaks apart in impact, dispersing the energy and keeping
 all the pieces intact.
 We pop the magnet back in, snap the unit together and we're flying just fine a few minutes later.
 After spending an afternoon with the SNAP, I'm really excited to see the finished product.
 It's made dramatic improvements on the portability and safety of the average consumer drone,
 while retaining a stabilized camera and good battery life.
 If Vantage can iron out the kinks and start to deliver consistent flight performance,
 the SNAP is poised to be a very attractive new offering in the drone...
 Sorry, flying camera market.