GoPro is expanding out of its core business of making lightweight wearable video cameras, and developing a line of consumer-drones. The company hopes to have multi-rotor helicopters with high definition GoPro cameras on the market by the end of 2015.
The plan has not officially been announced, but The Wall Street Journal has learned of the project - their sources say that the products will be priced between $500 and $1,000 (€400 and €800).
The camera company would be the first major consumer-electronics brand to enter the drone market. Demand for drones has been growing among photographers - new technologies have made them smaller, lighter, cheaper and easier to fly, and most can be controlled by smartphones and tablets.
GoPro has sold 2.8 million camera units in the first nine months of 2015, up 15 percent on the same period last year.
Air safety regulations are one barrier that could stop the rise of the drone. GoPro has already joined the US-based Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Coalition, a drone advocacy group.
Technology, art, and culture site The Verge reported earlier this week that drone manufacturer Parrot is working on a product called the Bebop, a drone that can be connected to an Oculus Rift-style virtual reality headset , allowing wearers to experience the drone's flight from a first-person perspective.
Drones have become a common feature of modern video production, and have helped to capture some stunning images. Here is a couple of Newstalk's favourite drone videos:
- This footage, filmed by aerial photography company Aerial Eye, offers some stunning views of Connemara from above.
- Go inside Dublin's Poolbeg Chimneys with this amazing footage from Sky Pixels Ireland.
