DJI may be working on a new FPV drone that you can fly indoors

New leaks suggest that DJI is working on a new FPV (first person view) drone that can fly indoors (via gizmodo). Reliable Tipsters @OffersDrone Y @OsitaLV have released leaked images and details about a smaller, more compact drone that could arrive between July and August.

The drone, reportedly called the Avata, will weigh 500 grams, which means users will need to register it with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) if they decide to fly it abroad (drones weighing more than 250 grams must register with the FAA). Renders from @DealsDrone show that the Avata could come with ducted propellers to help prevent any damage to the device when it (inevitably) hits something during indoor flight. It features a camera that @DealsDrones hopes will be as good as the one on the recently released DJI Mini 3 Pro, as well as “greatly improved” battery life.

Avata is also rumored to come with FPV goggles, a must for FPV drones, which give you a first-person perspective of where your drone is going as you pilot it. Although DJI released its first FPV drone last year, it is not the best suited for indoor flying.

What gizmodo As he points out, it sounds like Avata is meant to be a cinewhoop-style drone, or a drone with a camera that’s usually tailor-made for maneuvering in small, indoor spaces. The name “cinewhoop” is a portmanteau of tiny whoop (a brand name that has evolved into a term for small drones) and “cinematic” for those amazing movie shots you can get with this type of drone (like this epic sequence captured in a bowling alley).

In April, GoPro made a camera specifically for cinewhoops and other FPV drones: the GoPro Hero 10 Black Bones. GoPro requires users to weld this ultra-lightweight camera to their drone, meeting the high demand for a basic camera suitable for flying. If DJI releases an off-the-shelf cinewhoop drone, this would eliminate the need for tinkering altogether (at least for those who don’t want to create a DIY build) and open up the niche to a lot more people who aren’t as technically savvy.