The Antigravity A1 is among the most uncommon client drones I’ve examined lately. Not as a result of it shoots 8K 360° video, and never as a result of it’s underneath 250g, however as a result of it presents real-time 360° viewing contained in the FPV goggles. This essentially modifications the flying expertise and unlocks artistic prospects that merely don’t exist on typical drones. On this assessment, I’ll stroll you thru the total expertise: design, flight efficiency, options, picture high quality, and my sincere execs and cons.
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The place to Purchase
You may get the Antigravity A1 from:
The Antigravity A1 is bought in bundles along with the controller and goggles. There are three bundles accessible, every providing totally different equipment and battery. I’m reviewing the Infinity Bundle, which incorporates:
- Antigravity A1 drone
- FPV goggles
- Movement controller
- Arduous carry case
- Charging hub
- 3× high-capacity flight batteries
- 3 spare propellers
- Screwdriver
- Lens caps
- Goggles battery and cable
- SD card reader
- Manuals
The whole lot matches neatly contained in the included sling bag, which feels sturdy and well-designed. It’s an entire ecosystem—similar to DJI’s Fly Extra Combos.
A1 Drone
Placing a 360 digital camera on a drone is nothing new, however the Antigravity A1 is the primary drone to combine a local 360° digital camera system straight into the plane. Its kind issue carefully resembles the DJI Mini collection, providing:
- Extremely-light weight underneath 250g
- A compact physique with foldable arms
- GPS and impediment avoidance
- Lengthy flight time
Design
The Antigravity A1 makes use of foldable 6-inch propellers, and the arms collapse as properly—making the drone extraordinarily compact for transport. This design method is much like the DJI Mini Collection.
The drone options 4 cameras:
- Two fisheye lenses (prime and backside) for the 360° seize
- Two forward-facing cameras for impediment avoidance
These cameras are soft-mounted to assist cut back vibration. One among my first issues was unintended scratches—particularly on the underside lens—however Antigravity permits you to substitute the lenses your self. That’s a wise transfer for a 360° drone the place lens harm is an actual danger.
As a result of the underside lens is uncovered, the drone deploys mechanical touchdown guards each time it powers up or lands. It’s a small element, but it surely demonstrates considerate engineering.
There are impediment avoidance sensors and touchdown gentle on the underside.
On the again, there’s a slot for a microSD card and a USB-C connector that are simple to entry.
Full 360° Viewing in Actual Time
FPV pilots have been utilizing 360° cameras on drones, however you continue to needed to fly utilizing a single forward-facing digital camera. The A1 modifications this fully: you fly by means of a reside 360° view contained in the goggles.
Right here’s the way it works:
- The drone makes use of two 180° fisheye cameras (prime and backside).
- The system stitches them right into a seamless 360° sphere.
- The drone’s physique is robotically erased, so that you by no means see it within the goggles.
The true breakthrough is that the goggles help real-time head-tracking, much like VR. You may lookup, down, left, proper—anyplace—whereas the drone stays fully stationary. As somebody who has flown FPV for greater than a decade, that is genuinely mind-bending the primary time you expertise it.
Weight and Battery Choices
The battery slides in similar to in a DJI Mini, which additionally has a built-in indicator. The flight pack clicks firmly into place simply and securely.
The A1 is designed to hit 249g with its commonplace flight battery—slightly below the 250g registration threshold in lots of nations.
In addition they supply excessive capability battery which permits for longer flight time. Nonetheless the load would exceed 250g.
These battery choices would possibly look equivalent on the skin, however very totally different in weight and capability.
Customary Flight Battery
- 7.16 V, 2360mAh
- 66.9g
- Retains the drone underneath 250g (takeoff weight: 249g)
Excessive-Capability Battery
- 7.16 V, 4345mAh
- 107.8g
- Considerably longer flight time
- Will increase takeoff weight to 290g
The Customary and Explorer bundles embody the lighter commonplace batteries. The Infinity bundle consists of solely the Excessive-Capability variations, and presently it seems that solely Excessive-Capability batteries can be found for buy individually. If staying underneath 250g is essential to you, take note of which batteries are included.
Not Made for Crashing
Just about like all digital camera drones, it’s not a basher like your typical FPV drone. You may fly aggressively, however one onerous crash will in all probability break it. The truth that it has two very uncovered 360 cameras makes it much more so. Good factor it’s attainable to switch the lenses in the event that they get scratched.
Essentially the most fragile might be the propellers, they’re gentle weight and stiff, but in addition very skinny so doesn’t really feel very crash resilient. The drone comes with a spare set, and they are often changed simply with the included screwdriver. Aside from the digital camera lens and props, every other damages you may need to ship the drone again to Antigravity for restore.
Imaginative and prescient Goggles
The Antigravity Imaginative and prescient Goggles are, for my part, one of many largest causes the A1 feels so groundbreaking. The flexibility to see and discover a full 360° atmosphere in actual time essentially modifications the flying expertise.
Design
The goggles have an unconventional, virtually futuristic look—a lot in order that I used to be getting a good quantity of curious stares from individuals strolling by throughout testing (or I used to be simply being self-conscious 🙂 ). One of many two circles on the entrance is definitely a show meant for spectators, letting them see what the pilot sees.
A number of design notes:
- The 2 foldable antennas are non-removable.
- You may report the goggles’ display screen (much like DVR recording)—however not a 360 feed, only a flat video of what you see contained in the goggles. Solely the drone data 360 movies.
- Recordings might be saved to a microSD card or the built-in 30GB storage (greater than sufficient for a dozens of flights).
The entrance show is an fascinating thought, however in follow it’s not as helpful because it sounds. Spectators can’t see the tiny show whenever you go searching whereas flying, which makes it a bit doubtful at occasions. I might a lot somewhat have a video output possibility (HDMI or USB-C) for exterior screens or a smartphone.
Viewing Expertise
The goggles use a 2560×2560 OLED show operating at 72Hz. The sector of view is extraordinarily massive—arguably even bigger than DJI’s Goggles V1/V2—making the expertise extremely immersive.
Nonetheless, with such a big FOV, the perimeters and corners seem barely blurry. The middle stays completely sharp although, and all essential OSD info is properly positioned and stays readable, so it’s not an actual challenge. There’s presently no possibility to cut back the display screen measurement.
IPD and diopter changes can be found through two rotating knobs beneath the goggles:
- IPD vary: 59–72 mm (I can affirm that is correct as claimed)
- Diopter adjustment: –5 to +2
- Elective snap-in corrective lenses for stronger myopia (–500° to –800°)
One disadvantage is that you simply can not lock the IPD or diopter changes, so it’s attainable to mess up the changes when dealing with the goggles.
Person Expertise
In contrast to different FPV goggles, there are not any bodily menu buttons on the Imaginative and prescient Goggles. All menu operations are carried out by means of the movement controller utilizing an on-screen cursor—similar to VR headsets.
It really works, however generally it feels slower and extra cumbersome than utilizing devoted {hardware} buttons when all you need is to alter a setting rapidly.
A front-facing digital camera gives a see-through view whenever you double-press the left button on the goggles. The picture is black and white, but it surely’s clear and low latency. Personally I don’t discover it significantly helpful, it’s simply simpler to take off the goggles.
Consolation
The goggles include detachable spacer bracket – you may select to maintain or take away it primarily based in your face form. The froth padding supplies are top quality, and at solely round 340g, the goggles are fairly light-weight and comfy to put on. I wore them for as much as two hours straight throughout testing with out feeling any discomfort.
Energy
The Imaginative and prescient Goggles are powered by an exterior battery pack that’s speculated to be hung round your neck. The one challenge is the ability cable—it’s too brief if you wish to maintain the battery in your pocket as an alternative. Everytime you wish to take the goggles off, it’s important to take away the battery pack out of your neck too, barely inconvenient.
An infrared sensor between the lenses robotically turns off the show whenever you take away the goggles, serving to to protect battery life (might be disabled).
Grip Movement Controller
The A1 ships with a movement controller—conceptually much like DJI’s RC Movement controllers. It’s designed to be beginner-friendly, counting on pointing gestures somewhat than conventional stick inputs.
Format and Controls
The controller has 11 management inputs in whole:
- On the entrance, there’s a yaw wheel (for exact rotation), emergency brake button, takeoff/touchdown button, video report button, and picture shutter button.
- On the left aspect, there’s a 3-position mode selector, two customizable buttons (C1 and C2)
- On the suitable aspect, there are energy button and settings button.
- On the again, there may be the ahead set off (gasoline pedal).
Flying with it’s easy: level the place you need the drone to go, pull the set off, and the A1 strikes in that route. The educational curve is minimal, making it accessible even for full newbies.
Limitations for FPV Pilots
In case you come from FPV drones, this controller will really feel restrictive. There is no such thing as a stick controller possibility, and due to this fact no acro mode. Acro mode is what permits freestyle FPV pilots to carry out clean, quick, and exact maneuvers—one thing the A1 merely can not do with this controller.
Whereas the movement controller is straightforward to make use of, the heavy reliance on stabilization algorithms means flight paths can really feel extra robotic and fewer pure than what you may obtain with handbook stick management.
I additionally want the controller included a small joystick for positive place changes, particularly for gradual cinematic pictures or exact landings. Because it stands, you may solely fly ahead utilizing the set off.
Ergonomics
The controller is clearly designed for right-handed use. Positive, you need to use it along with your left hand when you actually need, however reaching some buttons turns into awkward. For a tool meant for everybody, a extra ambidextrous design would have been appreciated.
Person Expertise
Listed below are some footage samples, flight mode and have demo:
Preparation – Activation, Registration, and Updates
Proper out of the field, you could activate all parts—the drone, batteries, goggles, and controller. That is carried out just by charging every gadget through USB-C for the primary time.
Subsequent, the Antigravity A1 requires registration by means of the Antigravity cell app (iOS or Android). You’ll want to attach through Wi-Fi and create an account utilizing both an electronic mail handle or cellphone quantity. The method is much like DJI’s activation steps. Personally, I’m not a fan of necessary account registration for {hardware} I’ve already bought, but when privateness issues you, think about using a dummy electronic mail.
There was a firmware replace after I was organising the drone, the file was surprisingly massive, taking noticeably longer than anticipated to obtain and set up (over half an hour). Hopefully retail models will ship with the newest firmware preloaded so new customers don’t have to attend as lengthy.
Tutorial and Settings
As soon as every thing was arrange, the goggles offered a brief interactive tutorial explaining the controller buttons, fundamental drone management, and the which means of the varied on-screen indicators. It’s a pleasant onboarding contact, particularly contemplating how feature-dense this drone is.
And that’s price emphasizing: the Antigravity A1 is totally full of options. The menus are dense, the settings checklist is lengthy, and the movement controller has many buttons. It may very well be overwhelming for somebody fully new to drones.
Nonetheless, for pilots with earlier expertise—whether or not DJI or FPV—the A1 is pretty intuitive. To check usability, I deliberately flew the drone for the primary time with out studying the handbook, and whereas not as immediately easy as a DJI drone, I had no actual issue getting it into the air and navigating the fundamentals.
Menu navigation is very fascinating: it really works precisely like a VR headset. You progress a cursor across the interface utilizing the movement controller, much like the Meta Quest or different VR goggles.
Flight Modes
The Antigravity A1 presents two main flight modes, every delivering a really totally different expertise.
FreeMotion Mode
In contrast to conventional drones, the route you’re wanting is just not the route the A1 flies. As a substitute, the drone travels wherever you level the controller, no matter the place your head or eyes are pointed.
You may lookup, test behind you, or scan the atmosphere with out affecting your flight path. When your head is turned away from the route of journey, a small floating “mini display screen” seems within the goggles displaying the place the controller is presently pointing which is useful.
To steer, you bodily rotate your physique to level the controller towards your required route. Flying turns into a full-body exercise—half VR, half piloting.
FreeMotion Mode is intuitive for newbies however has downsides:
- Your physique actions can look a bit comical to bystanders (similar to watching somebody use VR goggles).
- It really works greatest on flat, open floor, it’s awkward in tight areas or inside autos the place you may’t freely flip your physique.
FPV Mode
FPV Mode transforms the controller into extra of a joystick. As a substitute of pointing along with your arm, you merely tilt the controller to steer. Your physique stays stationary, and also you keep away from unintentionally delivering circle whereas flying.
For me, FPV Mode is the extra pure and gratifying expertise—particularly coming from FPV drones. It’s much like the DJI Avata 2 movement controller, however with one key distinction: the A1 all the time retains the horizon degree, no matter your turns or banking.
A few drawbacks:
- Each time you are taking off, the drone defaults again to FreeMotion Mode—you could manually change to FPV Mode, EVERY TIME!
- In case you set off Return to Residence, you could change again to FreeMotion Mode first.
Not deal-breakers, however will get annoying over time.
Velocity Ranges
The A1 additionally consists of three “pace modes”:
- C Mode (Cine): Slowest and smoothest—very best for cinematic pictures.
- N Mode (Regular): The default pace.
- S Mode (Sport): Quickest mode. I reached roughly 50 km/h (30 mph) in my testing.
Once more, similar to the flight modes, the A1 all the time defaults to N mode after takeoff (even when C or S mode is chosen), it’s important to change again to N mode first, then choose C or S mode once more. One other small irritation that may very well be improved with a future firmware replace hopefully.
Flight Efficiency
Flying the A1 feels a bit like having a digital camera on a gimbal with head-tracking—you may freely go searching in any route whereas the drone continues cruising ahead. Barely off subject, however this FPV system would make an unimaginable head-tracking resolution for RC planes as a mechanical gimbal different.
I examined the A1 in 20mph wind, and it carried out surprisingly properly for such a light-weight drone. That mentioned, robust wind does noticeably restrict its prime pace and the way far it might probably journey. Picture high quality additionally might be impacted – it seems much less crisp in robust wind in all probability as a result of heavier digital stabilization. It’s not a very highly effective plane, and I used to be getting fixed “robust wind” warnings within the goggles. Realistically, 20-25mph wind is the higher restrict of what I’d comfortably fly in; past that, it’s too dangerous.
The A1 can also be very quiet—at round 150–200 meters away, you may barely hear it.
The emergency brake button works superbly. Faucet it, and the drone immediately stops and holds its place. Maintain brake button for a number of seconds, and it triggers Return-to-Residence, flying again to its takeoff level robotically. These options behave equally to these on the DJI Avata 2 and are equally dependable on the A1.
In RTH, it reveals the flight path
There’s additionally a “digital cockpit” mode that overlays a 3D dragon beneath you, making it appear to be you’re using it. It’s hilarious and fully pointless—I maintain it off so it doesn’t block my view. Nevertheless it’s nice enjoyable to point out children or mates.
“Driving a dragon” with digital cockpit enabled
Vary
The Antigravity A1 makes use of a proprietary OmniLink 360 transmission system that operates on 2.4 GHz, 5.2 GHz, and 5.8 GHz bands.
In my testing, I comfortably reached 2km with a clear video feed. I probably may have gone farther if the wind wasn’t so robust. However when flying by means of timber or round obstacles, the sign breaks up prior to what I usually see on DJI O4. Count on body drops, blurring, and compression artifacts as quickly because the sign begins to weaken.
One factor I miss is a numerical hyperlink high quality indicator (like bitrate on DJI or Walksnail). The A1 solely reveals 4 sign bars, they usually don’t replace very steadily. Generally you get body drops and blurs earlier than the bars even change. This could catch you off guard, particularly at longer vary or flying by means of timber.
One other behavior I needed to study: keep away from shifting your head an excessive amount of on long-range flights. It’s tempting to go searching—in any case, that’s the entire level of a 360-view drone—however shifting your head turns the goggles’ antennas away from the drone, which might cut back sign energy. Retaining the antennas pointed towards the plane is essential for maximizing vary and stability. And this brings one other level – keep on with FPV mode for longer vary flights.
Latency
Latency is one other consideration, over 100ms which could be very excessive by FPV requirements. You received’t actually discover it throughout regular cruising, however whenever you wave your hand and watch within the goggles, the delay could be very apparent—noticeably greater than DJI O4 or Walksnail. Happily, the A1 isn’t designed for high-speed proximity flying or freestyle anyway, so this isn’t a deal breaker. For gradual, cinematic cruising, the latency is appropriate.
Picture High quality
Video Decision Choices
- 8K (7680 × 3840) at 30/25/24 fps
- 5.2K (5248 × 2624) at 60/50 fps
- 4K (3840 × 1920) at 100 fps
There’s no LOG profile, which limits colour grading flexibility, however you may alter saturation, distinction, and sharpness for a extra impartial profile. Dynamic vary is surprisingly good—higher than I anticipated from a 360 digital camera.
Low-Mild Efficiency
Low-light efficiency is respectable for a 360 digital camera, however nonetheless constrained by small sensors. In darker circumstances, the A1 should decrease shutter pace and/or elevate ISO, which leads to a softer, noisier picture in comparison with drones with bigger sensors. That mentioned, it stays usable for informal flying.
No ND Filter
There are presently no bodily ND filters accessible for the A1. Nonetheless, Antigravity features a “Movement ND” function in its enhancing software program—an AI-based motion-blur algorithm. It mimics the look of longer shutter speeds fairly successfully and helps compensate for the shortage of actual ND filters.
Goggles Picture High quality
The reside feed you see within the goggles is roughly corresponding to Walksnail Avatar, however positively beneath DJI O4 in sharpness and readability. Nonetheless, the expertise stays extremely immersive because of the goggles’ huge FOV. It genuinely appears like sitting within the entrance row of an IMAX theater—besides you may flip your head to go searching the whole world in actual time.
Nonetheless, there are moments when head motion or sudden directional modifications trigger the picture to change into jerky, blurry, or briefly stutter, which breaks the sense of immersion. This will enhance with future firmware updates, however for now, it’s a noticeable quirk.
Audio
The drone itself doesn’t report audio, however the goggles’ DVR does. It data your voice and your surrounding which might be helpful for narration or logging observations.
“8K” is Not Truly 8K
This “8K 360 digital camera” may not look nearly as good as your 4K motion digital camera, right here’s why.
360 cameras have two sensors, every protecting 180°, and they’re stitched collectively to make a full 360° sphere.
So once they declare it’s “8K”, it’s combining the decision of each sensors, not what you get in anybody route. You’re successfully getting one thing like 4K per lens at most, then the digital camera merges them right into a single 360° video.
Moreover, in a 360 digital camera, the identical sensor space has to cowl a a lot wider 180° subject of view, whereas typical motion cameras solely must cowl 120° or much less. If you zoom in to get the identical regular digital camera view, the efficient decision is due to this fact lower than 4K, possibly nearer to 2.7K and even 1080k in some circumstances, that’s why they give the impression of being softer and decrease high quality.
For that reason, In case you’re shopping for the Antigravity A1 anticipating it to switch a Mini 5 Professional or a Mavic 3 for straight-up picture high quality, you’re in all probability going to be upset. This isn’t what a 360 digital camera drone designed for, it’s the immersive flight expertise and distinctive options 360 digital camera presents that make them standout and interesting.
Flight Time
Hover Time
In my testing:
- Customary battery: ~18 minutes hover time
- Excessive-Capability battery: ~half-hour hover time
These outcomes are noticeably decrease than the marketed 22 minutes and 35 minutes, however that is very typical—producers often check underneath very best, zero-wind circumstances. Even so, 18 minutes on a sub-250g drone is spectacular.
Actual-World Flight Time
Precise flight time varies relying on wind and how briskly you fly. Right here’s what I persistently achieved:
- Customary battery: 15–17 minutes
- Excessive-Capability battery: 25–28 minutes
Controller & Goggles Battery Life
- Movement Controller: ~5 hours per cost
- Imaginative and prescient Goggles: simply over 2 hours
Each are greater than sufficient to cowl 4 full flights with no need to recharge.
Battery Charging
The A1 drone battery might be charged both contained in the drone or by utilizing the Charging Hub.
The Charging Hub holds three batteries and expenses them one after the other, not concurrently—similar to DJI’s hubs.
It additionally consists of two very helpful options:
- Energy pooling: Transfers leftover power from decrease batteries into the fullest one.
- Energy financial institution mode: Lets you use the hub to cost your goggles, controller, and even your smartphone through USB-C.
Impediment Detection
The A1 options front-facing and downward-facing impediment sensors. When the drone detects an impediment, you’ll see a visible warning contained in the goggles (yellow and pink lights). Within the settings, you may select whether or not the drone ought to robotically brake or just warn you with out stopping.
In case you plan to fly by means of a dense forest or tight areas, you might wish to disable automated braking; in any other case, the A1 will halt the second it detects an impediment and refuse to maneuver ahead.
A number of essential limitations:
- Impediment detection solely works in C (Cine) and N (Regular) modes.
- It’s disabled in S (Sport) mode.
- The A1 has no aspect, rear, or upward sensors, so these instructions stay unprotected. Possibly that’s why they solely permit customers to fly ahead.
General, impediment detection works properly—even selecting up skinny branches and wires—however you shouldn’t depend on it fully. Since protection is proscribed to the entrance and backside, flying by means of tight gaps nonetheless requires cautious piloting, gradual actions, and sensible use of the 360° view.
Superior Options: Waypoints, Automated Actions & Monitoring
The A1 consists of a number of highly effective automated flight features that leverage its 360° digital camera capabilities:
Sky Path (Waypoints)
Create a flight path by putting waypoints on a map. The drone then performs the route autonomously. That is very best for repeating the identical flight path a number of occasions or letting another person benefit from the immersive view by merely handing them the goggles.
Sky Genie (Automated Actions)
A group of pre-programmed cinematic strikes—akin to orbit, rotation, spiral climb, and extra. These modes are good for fast TikTok/Instagram pictures with out requiring superior piloting expertise.
Deep Observe (Object Monitoring)
Robotically observe a shifting topic akin to an individual, automotive, or bike. With the 360° digital camera, you may reframe the shot in post-production, making the monitoring outcomes much more versatile.
These superior options carry out greatest in open areas with out obstructions. Use warning round timber, buildings, or individuals, since impediment detection is proscribed to the entrance and backside.
Modifying Footage
Images and movies are saved in Antigravity’s proprietary codecs:
- .insv for movies
- .insp for images
You may edit them utilizing Antigravity Studio, a free enhancing utility much like Insta360 Studio however optimized particularly for the A1 drone.
The software program permits you to:
- Play again 360° footage
- Crop and reframe pictures
- Apply filters and enhancements
- Carry out object monitoring
- Export movies in full 360° format or as conventional flat clips along with your chosen subject of view
It’s a reasonably intuitive workflow, particularly when you’ve used Insta360’s ecosystem earlier than.
Ultimate Ideas: Who Is the A1 For?
I don’t assume the Antigravity A1 will substitute FPV drones or high-end digital camera drones anytime quickly, but it surely does introduce a wholly new class of flying expertise.
In case you’re hoping for an FPV drone, you’ll probably be upset. The A1 is significantly dearer than a typical FPV setup, lacks acro mode, and doesn’t presently help a conventional stick controller for exact piloting. It’s gradual, has greater latency, and—like most digital camera drones—merely isn’t constructed to crash.
Nonetheless, as an unconventional 360° digital camera drone, the A1 is genuinely spectacular. You don’t want good framing; simply fly it and the 360° digital camera captures every thing round you. Reframing in put up removes a lot of the stress from filming, and since you may export a number of angles from a single shot, one flight can produce content material equal to a number of conventional drone passes. Picture high quality isn’t class-leading in comparison with prime motion cameras, but it surely’s completely adequate for social media content material.
I can see the A1 turning into a robust device for content material creators, journey vloggers, and solo filmmakers as a result of it unlocks artistic prospects you merely can not obtain with typical drones, like:
- Filming your self whereas flying away
- Capturing a number of digital camera angles in a single flight
- Scouting and navigating utilizing a reside 360° preview
- Producing 360° images and movies with simple reframing afterward
Get the A1 drone bundle from AliExpress: https://s.click on.aliexpress.com/e/_c3DpzaGH
That mentioned, I do want the value have been extra approachable—particularly with DJI is nearly to launch their very own 360 digital camera drone, which can solely make this section extra aggressive.
As somebody who has been flying FPV for over a decade, I genuinely admire the innovation Antigravity is bringing to the desk. The A1 is just not for everybody, however it’s with out query some of the fascinating and forward-thinking drones I’ve examined in years. Watching how this know-how evolves subsequent goes to be very thrilling.