Skydio is holding its Ascend 2023 event later this month, with a headline of “Brains meets Brawn”, will it be the launch of the Skydio X10 drone?
Skydio’s new drone has been announced, Skydio X10
Skydio X10 at Ascend 2023
Ascend 2023 is scheduled to take place on September 20th and is set to feature the company’s latest AI innovations, speakers from NYPD and other organisations using Skydio, and the company’s newest innovations in drone technology.
Breaking down the hints
Discover the newest innovations in drone technology
One of the event’s main points, is that it will be showing off Skydio’s newest innovations in drone technology. This is paired with an icon of a drone. Suggesting a new drone is on the way. There is also a separate point made about the AI advancements the company has made, so this point can’t be software related.
Ascend 2023 teaser image
Looking at the teaser image shared with the event, we can see that it’s an outline of a drone we haven’t seen before. Breaking it down further, we can see two arms going towards the edges of the image with half a propeller showing on each side. Towards the centre of the drone, there are what looks to be two image sensors, likely used for obstacle detection, which have also been moved from the arms of the drone.
Moving further down the body, it appears to show a rectangular body shape, this looks a little odd to us as the front section bulges out a decent amount but looks like it could be to create room for the folding arms.
Brains meets Brawn headline
Since the release of the Skydio 2, 2+, and X2 lineup, users have been complaining about the sensor size and quality coming out of the main camera. The headline of Brains meets Brawn, suggests that we are going to see an improved camera payload with a larger sensor for higher quality data.
What’s next for Skydio?
No more consumer
Now that Skydio has officially left the consumer drone market, this event can only mean the company is working on updates towards its enterprise product line, and likely the Skydio X10. The hints dropped by the company, listed above also point to the company releasing a new drone.
The original Skydio 2 was released back in 2019, with the Skydio 2+ following in 2022, an upgrade that excluded any camera improvements. So, it’s time for a new drone with refreshed specs, especially with the recent releases from DJI.
A docked future
Skydio released docks for its drones earlier this year, meaning the company is focused on automating drone operations via docks and its advanced operate itself drone philosophy. This could mean a drone built for docked operations first.
Recapping our findings
- All the hints around the Ascend 2023 event point to a new hardware release, potentially the Skydio X10
- Skydio recently announced its exit from the consumer market, allowing it to focus on the enterprise market more
- Skydio 2 released in 2019, making it the perfect time for a new camera payload upgrade
