Nixie, “the first wearable camera that can fly,” is a quad copter that is worn on the wrist like a watch and can fly on command before returning to the user. The unique camera allows you to get more creative shots than the average hand-held camera. Founder Christoph Kohstallis is both a Stanford physics researcher and a Google engineering lead. With his team of engineers, scientists, designers, and master thinkers, he has one goal: “to give you a new way to capture photos.” The Nixie consists of four flexible bands that can extend from around the wrist to a flying drone that can capture an image then return to the user. The Nixie allows users to capture unique and creative aerial views, particularly useful when their hands are occupied. Imagine being able to capture moments like rock climbing, biking, and fishing when a camera would usually be not easily accessible.

The Nixie team has been working on the wearable drone since 2014. As the winners of the 2014 Intel Make It Wearable Challenge, they won more than $500,000, which contributed to their startup and a working prototype. The Intel Make It Wearable Challenge encouraged inventors all around the world to create wearable technology using Intel’s Edison technology, “a tiny computer chip and hardware platform Intel designed specifically for wearables” (IQ Intel). Christoph Kohstall says “Having won this competition, now we can focus on really building the product, and that’s a wonderful luxury.”

The Nixie team is now perfecting the first-generation Nixies. For more information on how Nixie works refer to  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfzqUsGMHE0&t=9s.

Nixie is currently holding a photo contest that you can enter at, http://flynixie.com/contest.html which will end November 15, 2016. They are looking for photos that you would imagine to have taken on a Nixie. The top 10 photos will be selected and revealed on December 1^st, 2016. The winners will receive a first-generation Nixie, and their photos will be used to help launch the campaign.

While Nixie is still in the stages of a startup business it has gained a lot of publicity from Forbes, Mashable, Wall Street Journal, and more. Nixie is focused on hiring and looking for innovative people to join their team. They are looking to fill software and firmware engineering positions as well as computer vision engineers. Nixie believes that their product “has the potential to become a new product category.”

Nixie can be set on modes like follow me which consists of a longer shooting time for following the user. Other features include a panorama mode that allow for a 360-degree view and a hover mode for higher perspectives. Boomerang mode allows the drone to flies a set distance, takes a picture then returns to the user. The tiny drone weighs less than a tenth of a pound, and is able to capture HD images and connect to your smartphone to upload the images.

Digital cameras and photography are extremely popular these days; the Nixie is taking it to a whole new level. Nixie is “pushing the boundaries of photography, robotics, design, and the way we experience adventure.”

For more information and updates on Nixie go to http://flynixie.com/
For more information on Intel’s Make It Wearable Challenge visit https://iq.intel.com/wearables-need-to-be-out-of-sight-in-2015/