Gadgetory

the fotokite phi aims to give consumers with an itch to shoot some aerial photos and video a more user-friendly safer and less expensive way to do it than the current crop of camera toting quadcopters the foldable quadcopter weighs about 12 ounces with its battery and a gopro hero3 or hero 4 attached open it up turn it on with the twist of a wrist and the props spin up then you just let out the 26 foot leash to get it into position for your shot there is no GPS or remote control or an app you just use the puck which contains the retractable leash and simple gestures to change the angle of the copter and rotate it when you're done you can just tug the line in and it will start to retract should the leash break while you're using it it senses the snap and will hover and land according to its creators perspective robotics AG the Phi can get about 15 minutes of flight with its removable battery while simultaneously powering the camera and it can be charged via USB the fotokite phi is available via an IndieGoGo campaign for three hundred and forty nine dollars without a GoPro with a conservative estimated ship date of early 2016 should it reach its $300,000 funding goal I'm Josh Goldman with CNET's thanks for watching