Covert 360 Invisible 5"

By ki_lowatt on Sep 13, 2020

42  1,800  11

The first 5" invisible 360 FPV drone, designed from scratch, and running 6S. I call it the Covert 360, and the frame is now available to purchase from KI FPV. The design uses ultra light racing components, built around an Insta 360 One R camera. It uses the stock camera cage for compatibility with the optional lens guards. With a standard gopro 1" straight adapter, it can also run the 4K mod or a gopro in the upright position.

The frame with hardware is 88g. My build comes to 450g all up, with a CNHL 6s 450 mah lipo and the Insta360.
The low profile drone and components act like an invisible selfie stick, in drone form. The quad hides between the lenses, and is stitched out in your 360 video. This allows you to either reframe your video as you choose, looking in any direction, or to post the full 360 video, allowing the viewer to sit back and watch, or look around freely.

I spent a lot of time and money designing, building prototypes, testing components, tweaking, and starting over until I reached this final design that I am really proud of. I tested a lot of different carbons, and the final result is a unibody T700 quasi-isotropic carbon fiber. This provides a balance of pattern overlay for an equilibrium strength in each direction.

The unibody design uses more material and is more expensive to produce than individual arms, but provides a lot of benefits. Combined with the countersunk screw holes, it provides a true flat profile for the cleanest stitch lines on your Insta360 camera, minimizes weight, and maximizes build space for your electronics.
The optional Covert wrap decals are a digital print on air release wrap vinyl, laminated for durability, and computer cut for a perfect fit.

Alt Tag

"VR" 360 Video example. Best viewed on your phone, in the Youtube app. Also good in facebook posts.

Cinematic / reframed example:

Mind bender example. This was my very first prototype maiden flight. It had some issues but cool results.

Photos

Discussion

Sign in to comment

YuriAchermann   Mar 12, 2023  

Does it fit a GoPro Max?

dafunk   Sep 17, 2020  

impressive work... and result !!
I like how the camera dictated the shape of the quad

Logibear   Sep 15, 2020  

What an innovative design and super clean build.

DrewFPV   Sep 14, 2020  
1

That is pretty light weight!

ki_lowatt   Sep 15, 2020 

It's basically an ultra light racing rig carrying an Insta360 One R.

recon   Sep 15, 2020  
1

Great design! All about the wrapped battery.

Just noticed the moving props in the studio shots- that's pretty daring!

ki_lowatt   Sep 15, 2020 

Thanks! I had fun with it.

JuanSCamposZ   Sep 15, 2020  
1

Very Cool Design, its possible to use lens guard with this?

ki_lowatt   Sep 15, 2020 

Thanks! Yes, it works with or without lens guards.

chawks   Sep 14, 2020  

great build! could you put a caddx vista in this quad?

ki_lowatt   Sep 14, 2020 
1

Thanks! this wont have room for a vista unit, but i have designed a separate version with a dual stack that I am building now. It fits the vista with the nebula nano with the 20cm extension. It is a little larger and heavier. I think the light weight analog version will be the better performer, but a lot of people requested a digital version. long story short... its in the works. haha

Guides & Reviews

Jun 21, 2021

AirbladeUAV has done it again and this time they've brought long range to the 5" class! Based on the popular Transformer Mini, the new Transformer 5" Ultralight adopts a lot of the same design philosophies with larger props and more payload capacity. It can fly upwards of 20 minutes on a 4 cell Li-Ion battery pack and in ideal conditions it's got a range of over 4 to 5 miles. In this guide I'll walk..

Read more
Mar 04, 2021

With the release of the DJI FPV Drone cinematic FPV has become a lot more accessible, but you certainly don't want to crash a $750 drone! The QAV-CINE Freybott is a compact, lightweight cinematic FPV drone that can take a hit and keep going. It's a lot safer to fly indoors and around people. With a naked GoPro or the SMO 4k you can capture some great stabilized footage. In this guide I'll show you..

Read more