DJI unveils $499 computer designed for drones

DJI and Canonical have teamed up to make the Manifold, a computer running Ubutnu Linux that can be mounted on DJI’s Matrice 100 drone. The Manifold is listed on DJI’s website for $499 and the Matrice for $3,299. This is clearly not aimed at the average drone enthusiast, but rather for developers who, DJI hopes, will increase the value of its platforms.

In a statement from the company, DJI director of strategic partnerships Michael Perry said, “With the Manifold, we are entering a new era of smarter, faster and more powerful aerial platforms. Manifold opens up for aerial and ground technology to work together intelligently to solve complex problems.” As is usually the case when platforms are opened up to third-party developers, it can be impossible to predict all the use cases developers will come up with, and which will find success in the market. Apple did not release the first iOS software development kit until more than eight months after the release of the first iPhone, but the outpouring of creativity that followed has contributed largely to the platform’s success. DJI now appears to be hoping that the same kind of creativity will boost its technology.

The Manifold is equipped with an ARM Cortex A-15 quadcore processor, NVIDIA GPU and an assortment of ports that include USB, Ethernet and HDMI. It works with a “wide range of sensors, monitors or interfaces,” according to DJI. It is unclear how third-party development might be implemented into other platforms. Linux is open source, though, and development for one platform inevitably leads to ideas for other platforms.