Nixie won Intel's $500,000 prize in this year's Make It Wearable Challenge with a prototype of its wearable camera drone designed for taking photos of yourself.
The four-copter aircraft is worn on your wrist, unfolding and flying off on your command so you can take photos and record videos of yourself from far away, according to wired.co.uk. Nixie is focusing on attracting rock climbers and other extreme sport fans looking to get good footage while on adventures.
"We all use pictures to capture your moments," said team member Jelena Jovanovic during the device's introduction. "We use the tools we have available and we've been doing it as long we've been human."
The drone comes in several modes, such as "boomerang," in which it flies off to take photos and returns to your wrist, and "follow me," in which you can take the drone out to record video for longer periods of time, PC Magazine reported. The device syncs automatically with your phone to uploaded captured images when it comes back to you.
Jovanovic said Nixie doesn't know when the final version of its drone will be completed, Venturebeat reported. However, the $500,000 should bring that date much closer.
"It will give rock climbers something they can't get, which is this amazing perspective on their sport," Jovanovic said.
Make It Wearable, which Intel announced at last year's Consumer Electronics Show, involved around 500 competitors in the wearable tech market, including Open Bionics, which won the $200,000 second prize with its 3D-printable robotic prosthetics for amputees, PC Magazine reported. ProGlove won the $100,000 third prize with its wrist band and work glove combination, and Blocks won the Audience Favorite prize with its open-platform, modular wearable kit for developers.
Other competitors in the challenge included Babyguard, a baby activity monitor for expectant mothers, Snowcookie, a fitness tracker for skiers, and First V1sion, a camera that shows what athletes are looking at when they wear it.
