Antigravity's Follow Me bundle adds accurate tracking and gesture controls to its A1 drone
It’s available as both an accessory bundle and a full kit with the drone.
Antigravity's debut drone combined 360-degree cameras with POV goggles and a one-handed point-and-fly controller. The A1 offered a unique way to capture drone video, allowing users to reframe footage after the fact by cropping into the 360 video to focus on the action.
The new Follow Me bundle includes propeller guards, a watch remote, and a ring remote, designed to offer hands-free shooting and tracking. It is available as a complete bundle with the A1 drone for $799, or as an accessory kit for $340, with discounts for existing owners.
The watch and ring pair improves tracking performance by combining visual data with the Watch Remote's built-in GNSS. The system also functions as a gesture-control interface, reducing the need for the primary controller and goggles.
Gesture Control Performance
The bundle introduces Drag-to-Fly gestures. After selecting a tracking subject on the watch display, users press and hold the Ring Remote's button to initiate flight, confirmed by audible cues and vibration.
The watch hardware is somewhat bulky, featuring a touchscreen interface and USB-C charging. It offers roughly five hours of use. While the fabric wrist strap is functional, the connective links and the ring's Velcro strap feel somewhat delicate.
Using the watch alone allows for tracking, but adding the ring enables manual flight control. Pointing the ring allows the A1 to follow hand movements quite responsively.
Distance gestures involve rotating the wrist to move the drone closer or further away. The system has some limitations; for instance, you cannot move the drone through all three dimensions simultaneously, requiring button releases to adjust specific axes.
The current gesture requirements for vertical movement can feel awkward during flight, suggesting a need for more intuitive control mapping in future updates.
Operational Features
The Watch Remote includes touchscreen controls for launching, switching video modes, and initiating pre-programmed flight moves. Recent updates also added a palm take-off option, removing the need for a landing mat.
The bundle is intended for outdoor use with at least 2 meters of vertical clearance. The system includes safety alerts if the drone detects insufficient space for takeoff.
This control method is a significant benefit for solo users, such as cyclists. While the gesture system is effective for basic tracking, the inability to control distance and positioning simultaneously is a notable limitation.
Flight Paths and Safety
Pre-programmed flight paths offer professional-looking shots, including vertical ascents and orbital paths that automatically adjust to avoid obstacles like trees or buildings.
The included propeller guards are a welcome addition, as the A1 is prone to damage during close-quarters flight. While lightweight and easy to clip on, they do not offer full protection against fingers and slightly impact the drone's portability.
While the A1's native Deep Tracking mode is useful, the Follow Me kit provides more consistency for fast-paced activities. However, attaching the propeller guards prevents the drone from folding, which affects its overall portability.
The kit enables solo flight, which is important for compliance with Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) regulations in many regions, as it removes the need for a secondary observer when wearing FPV goggles.
The Follow Me kit expands the capabilities of the A1, making it more versatile for solo creators, though it adds to the overall cost of the system.
