iOS-compatible Lily drone follows and records you automatically

Recording your thrills of victory and agonies of defeat from the air used to require a drone equipped with a GoPro and a friend skilled enough to pilot it behind you. The new Lily drone promises to make things a whole lot simpler by automatically following and recording your exploits, whether you are snowboarding, kayaking, mountain biking or just walking around.

With the slogan, "Camera. Reinvented," the Lily drone was designed with simplicity in mind, and it doesn't get much easier than this. To activate Lily, you simply turn on the tracking device that the drone pairs with and toss the drone into the air. It then takes off by itself, automatically following the tracker and recording video - the user doesn't need to control it and can concentrate on the activity at hand. You can keep the tracker on a specially designed wristband (that also has a waterproof casing in case you are surfing, waterskiing or doing anything else on the water) or just keep it in your pocket, backpack, etc. The drone itself is water resistant as well, and can take off from the water.

Aside from providing a beacon for the drone to follow, the tracker also has a microphone to record sounds around the user, which it synchronizes with the recorded video. It also has several buttons for taking still photos and changing the flying/recording mode of the Lily. Modes include Lead, Follow, Loop, Fly Up and Side. Its camera is capable of recording 1080p video at 60 frames per second and 720p slow motion video at 120 fps. It can also take 12 megapixel still shots.

The Lily will stream low resolution video to an iOS-compatible companion app that can be loaded on your iPhone or iPad, which will be helpful for framing still shots. The app can also be used to change the drone's flying modes, as well as for editing photos and video.

The Lily is capable flying at 25 miles per hour and can follow the user at a maximum range of 50 feet and a minimum of 5 feet. It is highly portable at just 2.8 lbs. with 10.29" x 10.29" x 3.22" dimensions. A fully charged battery (which takes two hours) will allow for about 20 minutes of flight time.

The Lily is currently available for pre-order for $499 plus shipping. Once the pre-sales are over and it officially launches it will retail for $999.