The easy-to-use, autonomous flying camera safely captures moments from above for unlimited creativity

SAN FRANCISCO, April 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Zero Zero Robotics, the forward-thinking robotics company pioneering the future of consumer-friendly flying smart robotics, today announced it has raised $25 Million in total funding, including a $23 Million Series A round. The funding was participated in by prominent investors including IDG, GSR Ventures, ZhenFund and ZUIG, among others.

Zero Zero Robotics additionally unveiled the company's first product, Hover Camera - the first truly consumer-friendly autonomous flying camera designed to be safe, portable and let anyone effortlessly capture exciting moments indoors and out, from creative new perspectives. Using Embedded AI to intelligently navigate its environment and the Qualcomm® Snapdragon Flight™ drone platform, Hover Camera captures exciting moments, whether snapping an aerial family vacation photo, capturing the perfect shot from above the rim at a basketball game, or recording your wedding while you walk down the aisle.

Thanks to its innovative protective, and foldable carbon fiber enclosure design, Hover Camera is safe and easy to use out of the box and requires no learning curve. Simply unfold Hover Camera and power it on, let it lift off of your fingers, and capture thrilling video and photos from unique angles as it hovers steadily in place.

"We want to combine radical AI technology and small flying robotics to create products that empower people to enhance their livelihood, and Hover Camera is a very exciting first step towards accomplishing our much larger mission. We're excited that this round of funding will allow us to introduce the public to Hover Camera, push the boundaries of what's possible, and reimagine the future of what truly autonomous flying devices can be," said Meng Qiu Wang, CEO of Zero Zero Robotics.

"There have been a number of flying cameras on the market, but Zero Zero Robotics has for the first time created a product with state-of-the-art technology that we think will power the future of autonomous devices. We're confident that this team is equipped with the deep engineering experience required to pioneer the future of consumer robotics, and we look forward to seeing how Hover Camera will expand the boundaries of its users' creativity," said Richard Lim, Managing Director of GSR.

Zero Zero Robotics invites beta users to suggest creative uses for Hover Camera for the opportunity to be one of the first to receive it and produce unique and exciting content. Visit GetHover.com to apply, as well as for added details.

Hover Camera Product Features:

13 MP Photos & 4K Video: Capture and relive your memories in lifelike quality
Follow Your Face and Body: Tracks your face and body to always keep you in the picture, even on the go
Electronic Image Stabilization: Uses proprietary technology to intelligently and digitally stabilized photos and video, correcting camera shakes or jitters from the final footage
Release & Hover: As soon as you let go, Hover Camera will hover steady in place to allow you to quickly and easily capture any moment
Throw & Balance: Throw Hover Camera and it will intuitively balance itself for the best shot
Portable & Lightweight: At just 238 grams, below the FAA 250 gram Hobbyist Drone Registration weight limit, Hover Camera is portable and convenient to carry for any photo worthy moments
360 Pano: Spinning while in a fixed position, Hover Camera captures 360 degrees of panoramic video footage
Self-Positioning: Using sonar and a ground facing camera, Hover Camera hovers in place so that it's able to be positioned "anywhere" in space like an invisible tripod, even in windy conditions
HOVER CAMERA: WHAT'S UNDER THE HOOD

Hover Camera has been developed using Zero Zero Robotics' proprietary Embedded AI technology that enables it to run artificial intelligence algorithms on its proprietary compact printed circuit board (PCB), utilizing Snapdragon Flight, a drone development platform targeted specifically for drone applications. Snapdragon Flight features the powerful Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 801 2.3Ghz Quad-Core processor, with GPS, 4K video capture, and robust connectivity, bringing cutting-edge mobile technologies to create a new class of consumer drones. The integrated approach in developing and using Embedded AI, which marries artificial intelligence with a small PCB, enables Hover Camera to run complex, state-of-the-art AI algorithms quickly, yet locally, on a small, lightweight, foldable body.

This groundbreaking approach and technology packed into a portable, yet smart consumer device enables Hover Camera to intelligently perceive, analyze, and navigate its surrounding environment with computer vision, rather than GPS, to keep the user at the center of the picture at all times.

Hover Camera's Technology:

SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping): Perceives and maps its surrounding 3D environment using its front-facing camera to accordingly position Hover Camera in space
4K Video Encoding: Enables Hover Camera to film in 4K
Optical Flow: Enables steady hovering and flight through a 3MP downward facing camera
ElS (Electronic Image Stabilization): Digitally stabilizes video or photos to correct camera shakes or jitters from the final footage
Face and Body Recognition: Tracks your movement by recognizing and following your face and body
Proprietary flight control algorithm: Uses in-house developed flight control algorithms, in lieu of open-source solutions
Hover Camera is manufactured by Foxconn Technology Group, affirming Zero Zero Robotics' capability of delivering mass produced consumer-friendly autonomous flying cameras at scale.

Watch Hover Camera in action and get to know the Zero Zero Robotics team here.

To learn more about Zero Zero Robotics and Hover Camera, please visit GetHover.com.

The media kit for Hover Camera can be accessed here.

About Zero Zero Robotics: Co-founded in 2014 by former Twitter software engineer and Stanford PHD, MQ Wang, and Stanford PHD Tony Zhang, Zero Zero Robotics is a forward-thinking robotics company pioneering the future of smart flying consumer robotics that empower people to enhance their lives. Zero Zero Robotics' flagship product, Hover Camera, is an artificially intelligent, flying camera built using proprietary Embedded AI technology to capture fun, unique perspectives and exciting memories. Zero Zero Robotics is headquartered in Beijing, with offices in San Francisco, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou. For more information about Hover Camera, visit http://GetHover.com.

Qualcomm Snapdragon and Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.