DJI Spark

Chinese camera drone From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The DJI Spark (company designation Model MM1A)[1] is a teleoperated compact quadcopter drone for personal and commercial aerial photography and videography use, released by the Chinese technology company DJI. The Spark had a short production run of only two years before it was replaced by the Mavic Mini.

National originChina
StatusDiscontinued
Quick facts Spark, General information ...
Spark
a DJI Spark flying indoors
DJI Spark
General information
TypeUnmanned aerial vehicle
National originChina
ManufacturerDJI
StatusDiscontinued
History
Manufactured2017–2019
Introduction dateMay 2017
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Design and development

DJI Spark being controlled with hand gestures.

DJI announced the Spark in May 2017.[2] The Spark is a small quadcopter with forward and downward obstacle avoidance sensors and satellite navigation.[3][4] The drone is lighter and smaller than the company's Mavic Pro, but lacks folding arms, making it roughly the same size as a folded Mavic.[5][6][7] The Spark has a 12-megapixel camera with a 1/2.3" CMOS sensor mounted on a two-axis gimbal capable of capturing 1080p video at 30 frames per second.[8][9] The Spark was the first DJI drone to be controlled by hand gestures.[10][11][12] Originally, users controlling the drone with hand gestures still had to use their phone to control the camera, but a software update in August 2017 added the ability to record video with a new set of gestures.[13]

Upon release, the Spark competed with drones such as the GoPro Karma and Yuneec International Breeze.[14] After reports of Spark drones falling from the sky in August 2017, DJI identified the issue as a software bug and released a firmware update to fix it. DJI also remotely grounded any drones that did not receive the update.[15][16][17]

In August 2018, DJI collaborated with Line Friends to release a version of the Spark marked to represent the character Brown.[18]

The Spark was replaced by the Mavic Mini in 2019.[19] Unlike the Spark, which is required to be registered in most countries due to its 300 g (0.66 lb) weight, the Mavic Mini was designed to bypass drone registration regulations by weighing under 250 g (0.55 lb).[20]

Specifications (Spark)

Aerial photo of Mladá Boleslav Castle taken with a Spark.

Data from DJI Spark manual[21]

General characteristics

  • Length: 0.143 m (6 in)
  • Width: 0.143 m (6 in)
  • Height: 0.055 m (2 in)
  • Empty weight: 0.300 kg (1 lb)
  • Battery capacity: 1480 mAh

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 50 km/h (31 mph, 27 kn)
  • Endurance: 16 minutes
  • Service ceiling: 4,000 m (13,123 ft) above sea level
  • Rate of climb: 3.0 m/s (588 ft/min)

Avionics

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

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