I'm a licensed drone pilot — and I never go flying without these 3 accessories
Plus, I don't know about you, but I like taking a long walk (away from civilization and, well, charging points) and coming upon a beautiful scene where I can fly my drone — which is why it's best to be prepared.
There are a few accessories that can help elevate your experience or even make flying easier. Whether you see aerial photography as a hobby or a money-making gig, I would recommend investing in three things: a microSD card with massive storage, a landing/take-off pad, and a portable power bank.
I fly my drone almost every weekend, and I'm a licensed drone pilot so you can trust me — and you might even thank me later. Here's how these three accessories can come in clutch when you're out and about with your drone.
Have you ever been in a situation where you're trying to land your drone as it's low on battery but the rocks are too lagged or there's too much grass? And you're struggling and struggling with no end in sight? Well, I have, and there's nothing more frustrating than when I can't find the right landing spot for my quadcopter — and this is where a drone landing pad serves as a life-saver.
The SYMIK LP500 20-inch Drone Landing Pad, available for £21 in the U.K., is my go-to. If you're in the U.S., I'd recommend the HZD 20-inch Drone Landing Pad ($19) which is practically the same thing. Both landing pads are weighted so they don't move unless it's extremely windy. They're waterproof and can be cleaned easily too.
The HZD 20-inch Drone Landing Pad is deal for drones smaller than the DJI Mavic 4 Pro — so, basically, all consumer drones. It's waterproof and easy to clean, and is brightly colored so you can see it from most heights. It's weighted too, so it should stay in place unless it's extremely windy.
20 inches in size, these landing pads are ideal for basically any consumer drone: from the behemoth DJI Mavic 4 Pro to the tiny DJI Neo.
Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
I use my SYMIK landing pad the most when I want to land my drone on a grassy patch. I don't want my copter's propellers to act as a lawnmower and I also don't want the grass to damage them, so this is where the landing pad comes in handy. The use cases are endless too, making it perfect for sandy or pebbly beaches and other similarly unstable terrain.
Not many drones come with massive amounts of internal storage. For example, the DJI Neo features just 22GB of internal memory while the HoverAir X1 Pro comes with 32GB. Of course, if you're dropping thousands of dollars on the DJI Mavic 4 Pro, you can get 512GB of internal storage.
Regardless of how many videos and images your drone can save onboard, I still believe you need to carry the SanDisk 256GB Extreme microSDXC UHS-I as backup, which costs $34 / £25. Either keep it plugged into your drone's microSD slot or have it tucked away in your backpack.
SanDisk's 256GB Extreme microSDXC UHS-I microSD card boasts not just massive storage space, but also fast read (190mbps) and write speeds (130mbps). Offload speeds also top at 190mbps so you can quickly transfer content between devices, making it the ideal microSD card for 4K and 5K UHD capture.
SanDisk's Extreme microSD card boasts write speeds of up to 130mbps and read speeds of up to 190mbps. Offloading is quick too, as the card can transfer at speeds up to 190mbps. Most drones today can shoot 4K video and even Log (RAW), and they can capture images in RAW too. This SanDisk card supports 4K and 5K UHD capture, and it's the one card I never go anywhere without.
Lastly, I think it's crucial to have a portable power bank in your backpack or drone shoulder bag when you're leaving the house. Look, I've been there. I'm flying, having fun, when all of a sudden I hear my controller warn me that my drone's battery is low. Of course, I land it to swap batteries, and that's when it hits me: that was my last fully charged battery.
Catastrophe! Well, not if you have one of the best portable chargers at hand. Drone batteries require a lot of oomph to charge them speedily. I recommend grabbing the Anker Prime 27,650mAh 3-Port 250W... and I know what you're thinking. This portable charger costs $179 / £179 and I'm aware that's a lot — but I think it's worth every penny.
The Anker Prime 27,650mAh 3-Port 250W is extremely portable and lightweight, and it can quickly charge large devices, such as MacBooks and drones, with its 250W power delivery. It also features three ports to charge multiple devices simultaneously.
The charging time will depend on your drone. Anker's Prime 27,650mAh 3-Port 250W portable charger should be able to quickly power small drones, like the DJI Mini 4 Pro and the DJI Flip, in just under an hour, but bigger drones will take longer. Anker's offering is also extremely portable and lightweight, so you can even slip it into your pocket for easy transport!
There you have it: three accessories I don't leave the house without when I go flying. You should make a habit of packing a portable charger, a landing pad and a fast microSD card in your backpack. Are there any other drone accessories you always carry? Let me know in the comments!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Data I/O Announces Appointment of Charles DiBona as Chief Financial Officer
Redmond, Washington--(Newsfile Corp. - August 11, 2025) - Data I/O Corporation (NASDAQ: DAIO), the leading global provider of advanced security and data deployment solutions for microcontrollers, security ICs and memory devices, today announced that Charles ("Charlie") DiBona will be joining the Company as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer, effective August 11, 2025. Interim Chief Financial Officer Todd Henne will remain with the Company for a brief period to ensure a smooth transition. With a career spanning nearly two decades, Mr. DiBona brings a wealth of experience and leadership across financial reporting, resource optimization, IT system implementation and management, capital markets and merger and acquisition functions. He also brings significant strategy management experience from his position as General Manager, Strategy and M&A, Server and Tools Business at Microsoft. Most recently, he held CFO and financial operations roles for diverse technology companies, with contributions including expanded market presence, enhanced product offerings, and establishment of robust cross-departmental policies to increase efficiency, controls and compliance. Earlier, he served as an equity research analyst covering the enterprise software sector and worked in private equity performing portfolio management and analysis of diverse public and private companies. Mr. DiBona holds a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and an A.B. in Economics, Magna Cum Laude, from Harvard University. "We are thrilled to have Charlie join Data I/O," said William Wentworth, President and CEO of Data I/O Corporation. "Charlie comes to us with extensive experience in driving financial strategy and transforming organizational performance. We are confident he has the necessary background and capabilities to help Data I/O achieve its financial performance goals and advance the company to the next level on a global scale to better serve our expanding market presence." "I am very pleased to join Data I/O at this exciting time in the company's history," said Charlie DiBona. "I look forward to building on Data I/O's strong tradition in finance and helping drive organizational growth." NASDAQ Required Equity Disclosure Pursuant to NASDAQ rules, the initial equity compensation for Charles DiBona was approved by the Company's Compensation Committee, consisting of only independent directors. They approved a restricted stock unit grant to be made as an employment inducement grant included in his Executive Employment Agreement as follows: an inducement grant of 100,000 Restricted Stock Units effective on the first day of the month following Charles DiBona's employment and vesting annually over 3 years. The equity grant is made under or pursuant to the terms of the Data I/O Corporation 2023 Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan. About Data I/O Corporation Since 1972, Data I/O has developed innovative solutions to enable the design and manufacture of electronic products for automotive, Internet-of-Things, medical, wireless, consumer electronics, industrial controls and other electronics devices. Today, our customers use Data I/O's data programming solutions and security deployment platform to secure the global electronics supply chain and protect IoT device intellectual property from point of inception to deployment in the field. OEMs of any size can program and securely provision devices from early samples all the way to high volume production prior to shipping semiconductor devices to a manufacturing line. Data I/O enables customers to reliably, securely, and cost-effectively bring innovative new products to life. These solutions are backed by a portfolio of patents and a global network of Data I/O support and service professionals, ensuring success for our customers. Learn more at Contacts: Data I/O CorporationJennifer HigginsDirector of Corporate Marketing425-867-6922higginj@ Darrow Associates, Darrow512-551-9296jdarrow@ To view the source version of this press release, please visit Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Gemini starts replacing Google Assistant on more Wear OS watches
After initially teasing Gemini for Wear OS at I/O 2025, Google commenced its rollout with the Galaxy Watch 8 and Pixel Watch last week. Now, the company is expanding the rollout, bringing Gemini to more Wear OS watches. Google's rollouts of new features usually take a few weeks but can sometimes stretch upwards of a month or more. In its initial Gemini for Wear OS release, the company mentioned the expansion will continue "over the coming weeks." Thankfully, the company is not making you wait that long to experience its AI-powered assistant on your wrist. According to 9to5Google, Google is expanding Gemini access to more Wear OS users, including those with Samsung, Xiaomi, and OnePlus watches running Wear OS 5 or older. You should see a Gemini app update on the Wear OS Play Store. In case the app auto-updates itself, you'll get a notification about the AI assistant being available on your wrist. It will explain that you can talk to Gemini on your watch by holding down the side button or saying "Hey Google" if the appropriate setting is enabled. You can also use the Google tile for quick access to Gemini actions or add a watch face complication. Gemini on Wear OS should make voice commands less frustrating to use These are all the same ways you could trigger Google Assistant previously. Google was spotted working on a new raise-to-speak Gemini gesture for Wear OS, but that has not gone official yet. The difference is with the response, as Gemini will provide smarter and more informative responses. Plus, it will be better at understanding your natural language. Remember that Gemini on Wear OS does not process any data locally. So, it will only work as long as your watch is connected to your phone or has LTE connectivity. Some users on Reddit report they still have access to Assistant even after the app has updated and been renamed to Gemini. This could be due to Google not yet pushing the server-side changes live on their device. If you are in the same boat, you can try restarting your watch to see if that helps. Otherwise, your only option is to wait. Google Gemini Google LLC PRODUCTIVITY Price: Free 4.5 Download
Tom's Guide
a day ago
- Tom's Guide
Forget "I, Robot" — here's what your home robot will actually be like by 2035
Artificial Intelligence | Smart Glasses | Wearable TechSmartphones | iPhones | Robots | Cars | TVs In the movie 'I, Robot' — which, coincidentally, takes place in 2035 — humanoid robots are ubiquitous, assisting people with every facet of daily life, from walking their dogs to making them breakfast to tucking them in at night. That is, until a malevolent AI overrides their programming to try and take over the world. In China, humanoid robots are now playing soccer matches against each other, and in early August, a store selling nothing but robots — including one that looks like Albert Einstein — just opened. Over in the U.S., Elon Musk told Tesla investors that he thinks the company will produce a million Optimus robots by 2030. Are Isaac Asimov's predictions eerily prescient? Will things be more benign? Or will the future of home robotics be somewhere in between? A number of companies already have prototypes of humanoid robots that can walk, jump and more, so it's only a matter of time before they're in all our homes, right? Maybe one day. However, the near future of home robotics — even ten years from now — is likely to be a lot more practical than exciting. And, there are a number of hurdles they'll need to overcome to be as pervasive as in science fiction. So, what will home robots look like in 2035? And what will it take to get one in every house? 'I personally believe that in 10 years, [in-home robots are] probably not going to be humanoids and that they're probably going to be focused on helping caregivers,' Steve Cousins, the executive director of the Stanford Robotics Center, said. Previous to his stint at Stanford, Cousins was the founder and CEO of Relay Robotics, which developed an autonomous delivery robot, and CEO of Willow Garage, a robotics and research lab that lasted from 2006 to 2014. 'When you think about aging, there's a market that's growing fast and, you know, we need help,' Cousins said. 'In the U.S., at least the baby boomers have a lot of money, and so it's a real market.' By the year 2035, the U.S. population will reach a new milestone: For the first time ever, people over the age of 65 will outnumber people under the age of 18, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Similar trends are already occurring in other developed nations, such as Japan and in Western Europe, which will put a tremendous strain on the healthcare system. But, this is where robots can step in. 'I personally believe that in 10 years, [in-home robots are] probably not going to be humanoids and that they're probably going to be focused on helping caregivers.' One company that already has robots in the field is ElliQ, a small desktop device that looks somewhat like an oversized coffee mug turned upside down. Designed to help elderly individuals with loneliness, ElliQ's 'head' lights up and turns in the direction of the person who's speaking — or who's speaking to it. The device, which costs $50 per month, has been out for a couple of years; New York State gave out 900 of them two years ago as part of a pilot program, which continues to this day. 'The surgeon general announced [loneliness] to be actually the largest epidemic in the US and the root cause of huge medical costs,' said Dor Skuler, CEO and Co-Founder of Intuition Robotics, which makes the ElliQ. 'The worst thing we [do to] prisoners is isolation. It's solitary confinement, and we end up actually sending our parents and the people we love more than anything into that state, and not because we want to, but that's just how life is very, very often, especially after the loss of the spouse.' Using AI, the ElliQ engages with a person throughout the day, asking them about themselves, reminding them to take medication, and keep them engaged. 'We had our tons of studies now that came out for the state of New York and medical journals and so on showing over 90% of people living with the ElliQ are seeing their loneliness reduced,' Skuler said. 'But we're also saying their health KPI is up, their hospitalization stays go down, the medication adherents go up.' 'When we started, we were just looking at pure companionship and loneliness. But you find out is once you're in that position of trust and high engagement, then you're in a position to influence a lot more than just this sense of loneliness.' Apart from its physical design, if a robot is going to be living inside your home, it has to be considered a part of the family. But how do you build up that acceptance? 'We knew that a device that moves autonomously around the house needed to be trustworthy and likeable,' Anthony Robson, Senior Manager of Product Development, Robotics for Amazon, said. Over the past few years, his team has been working on the Astro, Amazon's first home robot. The Astro is a small wheeled device with a tablet for a face, and a telescoping pole with a camera on the end that extends up about three feet. The Astro was unveiled in 2021, and is currently available as an invite-only product for $1,599. It's been getting generally positive reviews from those who own one. 'We worked hard to design Astro's personality and character traits with that in mind,' Robson said. 'What we didn't expect was how endearing customers would find it when Astro comes and hangs out with them, and how quickly they would think of it as another member of the family. It speaks to how robots in the home that are around us need to be good companions, respecting our space yet being helpful when needed, and being approachable while doing it.' Skuler thinks that home robotics companies are focusing on the wrong things. 'It's always interesting to me to see companies that approach me and ask for advice,' Skuler said. 'They're all working on the really hard computer science questions. Like, how do I navigate? How do I go upstairs? How do I open a cabinet? How do I take a carton of milk out of the fridge without, you know, wrecking it? But they don't really think of the human interaction in the relationship, especially when it's in the home.' 'Granted, [ElliQ] can't make you a cup of coffee. She's stationary and doesn't do anything beyond talking to you. But I think we've discovered some really, really interesting things. People build an actual relationship with their ElliQ. They see her as a friend, they call her a friend.' 'But more importantly, the project onto her things like trust. We accept her recommendations. And because it's proactive, they follow her recommendations, which is crazy when you think about it. We're talking about people in their 80s and 90s that have never lived with technology.' A big part of engendering that trust in robots is being reliable. The more a home robot is part of your home, the greater the expectations it has to meet. Earlier this year, Mobile ALOHA, a semi-autonomous robot made by Stanford engineers, was able to saute shrimp and perform some other household chores, such as cleaning and putting away dishes, after being trained by humans, who first performed the task a number of times. Cousins says it's a good start, but noted that the robot only had about a 70 percent success rate — and made a huge mess in the kitchen in the process. In order to gain acceptance, home robots will need to be as reliable as any other appliance - if not more. 'If you say, hey, I've got this car, 70% of the time it'll get you to work. Forget it, right? I'll just walk,' Cousins said. '70% doesn't work, 90% doesn't work, right? 95%, even 99% means every three months you have a breakdown on the way to work.' There'a a reason why humanoid robots, from Figure to 1X Elon Musk's Optimus capture the headlines (and funding — around $1.6 billion last year). First, there's the sci-fi aspect. From C-3PO to "The Jetsons" Rosie, some of the most iconic robots have approximated what real live people look like. But, on a more practical level, a humanoid robot can best adapt to how our homes are laid out: They don't have a huge footprint, they can reach things on high shelves, and they can go up and down stairs. In theory. 'What's in common between old people and humanoid robots? They fall down a lot, they break easily, and they're very expensive to fix,' Cousins said. To this point, outside of industrial environments, humanoid robots have yet to really be tested in the real world, and it's going to take a lot of baby steps to get there. Given that robot vacuums only recently learned to navigate around pet poop, it's probably going to take a lot longer for a humanoid robot to surmount one step, let alone a dozen. The footage of the Chinese robots playing soccer was definitely impressive, but a number of them had to be carted off the field in stretchers after toppling over. And, unless you can guarantee that would never happen in a home, it creates a potentially dangerous situation. 'I worry about a six-foot-high humanoid falling on grandma,' Cousins said. 'But I'm terrified of the six foot high humanoid walking up the stairs and the power goes out on it, and it comes down the stairs and takes Grandma out.' "We should build more R2-D2s and less C-3POs." ElliQ's Skuler says that he purposely avoided building something that looked like a human. 'Studies show that if you have eyes, people will, you know, will build a stronger relationship with them,' he said. 'But it's also super creepy. It's super dystopian. And like that's the line between human or unhuman, especially when you add deep fakes and the voice and, you know, soon you'll have like exo skin or whatever. It's like, why? Why would we ever want to build a machine or create technology that can learn to blur the lines between what's real and what's manufactured? Like, why is that a good thing for us as humans?' 'I just think developers are like in love with your science fiction, and are worried they won't be successful in building affinity and sentiment. So they take this shortcut. 'I would say, look at Star Wars,' Skuler said. 'Who's more lovable? Artoo or C-3PO? One looks like a robot has two colored lights and can only beep, and it's super lovable, and C-3PO, you know, is like a stuck up, an entity that's hard to help to and build a friendship with. We should build more R2-D2s and less C-3POs.' 'Today, there's a notable gap between the components that go into toy robots and those that enable industrial robots,' Robson said. 'We need that gap to be filled with optimized solutions that can be mass produced with reliability and performance that are suitable for consumer products at scale.' While humanoid robots may eventually become more present, the more likely scenario is that homes will have a number of cheap robots, each assigned to a specific task, rather than a single, expensive robot that can do everything. Why do you need a $20,000 humanoid Rosie that will push around a vacuum, when we already have a $200 robot vacuum that already does a pretty good job?" Looking at that Chinese store that started selling robots, the cheapest robot on sale comes in at a whopping $287,000. 'Realistically, in the course of 10 years, [robots] are going to be like the cost of another car, and you're going to have to have a reason to justify why you're going to buy this additional thing,' Cousins said. 'You know, like, look, there's almost self- driving on my Tesla, right? It's only $100 a month, but I don't pay for it because it doesn't let me actually read a book while I'm going to work. I have to supervise it.' As with any industry, the cost of building robots will drop as production increases, but will there be enough 10 years from now as to be economically approachable for the average consumer? It's definitely possible, but tricky. Let's take Musk's claim of a million robots a year by 2030. If we look at Tesla's production numbers, it took a little over a decade from the time the company started making cars until the point at which it was making more than a million a year. And, making a self-balancing robot with AI is a helluva lot harder than building a car, even if it is electric. But even then, will consumers feel the need to spend the equivalent of another car payment for a convenience? 'If it crosses the threshold where I don't have to pay attention, now you've given me back an hour a day," Cousins said. "OK maybe I'll pay $100 a month, but it's still kind of a question, right? It's not that hard for me to drive myself to work. It's the same thing with the home. It's like, yeah, it'd be nice if it's free, but I'm not going to pay $40,000 for it.' Fear not: a decade from now, your in-home robot isn't going to suddenly stop folding your clothes and try to murder you in your sleep. That's because you're unlikely to actually own a robot that can actually walk around your house doing your chores, much less go on a homicidal spree. Not only are these robots unlikely to be ready for mass home adoption, but if they are, they'll be too expensive for the average homeowner to afford. And, even if you could foot the bill for one, would you actually want one? Yes, more tasks will be automated. We already have robots that vacuum and mop, robots that mow your lawn, and robots that fold your laundry — and they'll continue to go about their business. We'll most likely have refrigerators that can re-order things for us, too. But how many other in-home tasks are there that would require a full-time robotic nanny? Regardless of the shape or physical design of in-home robots, they're likely to know a lot more about you, so that they can better anticipate your needs. Which is a creepiness of a whole other sort. • Artificial Intelligence • Smart Glasses• Wearable Tech• Smartphones • iPhones• Robots• Cars• TVs
