3D Robotics (3DR) IRIS+

As far as technicalities go, 3D Robotics Iris+ is definitely one of the first legitimate drones, thanks to its autonomous flight feature. While it isn’t in the high-end spectrum of UAVs, it’s a decent mid-range quadcopter.

When you buy this quad from 3D Robotics, you’ll find one unit of the multicopter. Along with it are the transmitter-controller, a telemetry radio, an Android OTG cable, and a micro USB cable. Tall legs are also part of what’s in the box, as well as a battery, a flight check list, and a copy of the owner’s manual.

Setting up and flying the drone is easy. When you open the box, all you have to do is equip the propellers properly and you can prepare for take-off.

The remote control transmitter might need a few practice sessions, but those familiar with the basic layout of a video game controller wouldn’t have a hard time with it. Nonetheless, it makes maneuvering a lot easier, especially when compared to other controllers available today.

This quadcopter with camera mount features a 5100 mAh 3S battery capable of providing 15-20 minutes of flight time. 3DR advertises that this quad can stay in the air for 22 minutes, but that’s quite unrealistic in practice. What’s achievable is 20 minutes of flight – that is, if you won’t use the gimbal and the weather cooperates.

But if you make some adjustments to the gimbal, and if the winds are a little rough, you’ll definitely have a shorter flight time. At the very least, you can enjoy 15 minutes of flight with the UAV.

The flight time is so-so; it’s usable in many situations, but it’s nothing truly impressive. The Phantom 2 Vision+ boasts of 25 minutes of flight time, so a battery with a 15-20-minute flight time capacity fails to impress.

If you have an extra $210, you can add a Tarot brushless gimbal to your purchase. This comes with a custom Iris+ mounting kit, which makes the mechanism more secure. The gimbal makes video clip shooting smoother, as it remains stable even amid sudden jerks and bumps.

The problem, however, is that the design isn’t that optimal. When it holds a camera, it renders the SD slot and USB ports of the GoPro inaccessible. There’s no quick release to counter this as well. While this doesn’t affect video stabilization, it can certainly annoy some users – especially those who are fans of the Zenmuse H3-3D.

The set of navigation-related features that comes with this Iris+ drone is interesting. The true stars in this drone are these two features: Follow Me and auto mission planning.

The former uses 3DR’s 3PV™ (third-person view) technology, which makes the quadcopter a hands-free camera-equipped device. Once it connects with your Android device, you can set it to follow your movement while keeping you focused on its camera. This is the first quad to offer this technology – and for a new feature, it’s wildly impressive.

The latter, on the other hand, uses the DronePlanner 2 software. You can also use the newer Tower flight control app for this. Both apps are available through the Google Play Store. By drawing a flight path, the drone can follow a set of waypoints for easy, automated flying. It has the capability to keep the camera focused on a certain area through the region of interest waypoint feature.

Safety is something that 3D Robotics does well, which is why it’s no surprise that the Iris+ is safe to fly. It has the basic geofencing feature that establishes a boundary the UAV cannot cross. It’s capable of landing and taking off automatically, plus the function of returning where it took off once it’s low on juice.