HEONE Launches Drone That Doubles as Camping Light
Chinese startup HEONE has taken the wraps off a camping accessory that sounds almost too good to be true. Dubbed HEONE-X, the company’s latest camping rig is a drone that hovers over your campsite to light it up. Currently the subject of a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, the gadget is a smart replacement for the usual pile of lanterns and headlamps, featuring a single hovering light that floats up to 32 feet overhead and floods the ground below with adjustable light.
When we first saw HEONE-X on Kickstarter, the first question was “How does this thing make sense?” But as we delved deeper into the details, things came into light (pun intended). If you have ever gone camping, you would know for a fact that ground-level lanterns not only fail to light up large open areas but also pull every mosquito in a hundred-yard radius straight toward your face. HEONE solves this problem to a great degree. It puts light in the air instead.
Basically, HEONE combines a highly stable tethered drone with a powerful mobile power station to provide outdoor lighting. As per the company’s Kickstarter page, “When raised to a height of 10 meters, HEONE illuminates an area of 1,000 square meters. With a maximum wind resistance rating of Level 1, it provides 360-degree seamless, wide-area soft yet powerful lighting that easily covers an entire campsite, waterfront, or rescue site.” Now, the question arises: how does the light stay upright?
Similar to traditional drones, the HEONE-X is equipped with a built-in high-precision gyroscope and a powerful propulsion system that help it remain stable and illuminate even in windy conditions. The company says the drone can stay upright for up to 24 hours straight. Unlike traditional drones, it is tethered to a power station on the ground. The station packs a 480-Wh battery that doubles as a charger for other gear via its outlets and USB ports.
One tap on the station gets the drone airborne. An automatic reeling system pulls the cable back in at the press of a button, so nobody is stuck winding it by hand. Think of it as a kite that can be collected back when you pull the string back. All in all, the most functional aspect is that once above the ground, the elevated position keeps bugs drawn upward rather than swarming people at ground level, which, if true, might be the real selling point here.
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From a control standpoint, the drone can be operated from the power station, a phone app, or a handheld joystick, so hands-free lighting is the default, but manual override is there when you need to reposition it quickly. Outside of camping, it seems ideal for anyone hosting backyard sports after sundown, since one hovering unit beats running extension cords to half a dozen ground lights.
That said, there is no guarantee the final version matches the product showcased on the Kickstarter page. Moreover, with so many fraud cases in the crowdfunding space, one must be cautious when backing such projects. The company has, however, posted its development and testing history on the campaign page so backers can see it before pledging. On Kickstarter, the drone-and-power station bundle starts at $819, with extras like a carry bag, spare propeller blades, and a joystick sold separately.
