Xiaomi recently launched its latest and second drone to date — the MITU which is clearly aimed at competing against the DJI Tello. Unlike its earlier drone — the Mi Drone 4K, the MITU is a compact drone of mini proportions.
It is powered by brushed motors and has a diagonal motor size that’s smaller than some popular toy-grade drones such as the Syma X5UW. Although looking very similar to the Tello in terms of size and features, there is one key feature which sets the MITU drone apart from its DJI rival — the MITU was designed for aerial battles.
Product Highlights
- HD 720P camera with 5.8G WiFi FPV
- 10 minutes flight time
- Aerial battle mode (using infrared “guns” and sensors)
- Altitude hold with built-in optical flow sensor
- 114mm diagonal motor distance
- 88g weight
- Can be piloted via a smartphone or Bluetooth remote controller
- 50m control range
Of all features on the MITU, the aerial battle mode is probably the most exciting. This is a feature that allows two or more MITUs to engage in aerial battles using their built-in infrared “guns” and sensors (to detect hits).
Like any shooting game, each MITU drone is piloted using a smartphone app which also displays a WiFi FPV (first person view) video feed from the drone. In addition to the standard drone controls, the app also displays a cross-hair and fire button when in aerial battle mode.
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When a MITU detects that it has been hit by an infrared beam from another MITU, it will shake and shudder. The aerial battle mode seems to be a lot of fun to play and will probably be a key selling point for the MITU. It would be interesting to see how far Xiaomi will take this aerial battle mode in terms of development. Adding visual and audio effects to the mode would surely make it even more engaging.
Another key feature of the MITU is its programming or coding mode which allows users to set a sequence of commands for the MITU to execute. The word “coding” may sound deep and may conjure the image of a computer programmer sitting in front of a computer writing endless lines of codes for an app but this is really not the case with the MITU. In fact, I think “coding” is not the right word to use for this feature as it only involves specifying a sequence of orders or commands for the MITU to perform.
In other words, it is very similar to planning an autonomous mission in Mission Planner for APM-powered drones. For example, a user can specify a 5-step sequence that tells the MITU to take off, perform a flip, take a photo and perform another flip before finally landing. There’s really no any coding element to this feature.
At $79 the Xiaomi MITU is indeed a very attractive to the DJI Tello which sells for nearly double the price. For the price of two Tellos, you can get a pair of MITU drones and have plenty of fun engaging in aerial battles with a friend. With its infrared “guns” and aerial battle mode, the MITU quite literally takes aim at the DJI Tello.