Nixie, a tiny camera drone that launches off your wrist, just won Intel's Make It Wearable contest

Wearables, drones and selfies! Three of tech’s biggest buzzwords, and we’re not out of the first sentence of the news story yet. And it’s all thanks to Nixie, a prototype device that’s just won Intel’s Make it Wearable contest.

Nixie is a small camera-equipped quadcopter. Now, there are plenty of those around, but this drone offers something none of the others can: it can be worn on your wrist like a watch.

Fly, my pretty, fly!

The quadcopter’s rotor arms are flexible and can be wrapped around your wrist to form a clasp. Then, when you decide you want to launch it, a gesture releases the clasp and Nixie takes off directly from your arm.

And now, here’s the selfie aspect: it’ll then autonomously film you doing whatever it is you’re doing (climbing a rock face or walking a tightrope are a couple of examples from the creators’ video). It uses Intel’s tiny Edison chip to avoid obstacles and keep you in its sights.

As we say, Nixie is still a prototype, and it could be a while before it’s available to buy. That said, its makers have just secured US$500,000 in prize money for winning the final stage of Make it Wearable (Nixie is one of ten finalists). Enough to fund production, we’d say.

[Nixie]

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Tech journalism's answer to The Littlest Hobo, I've written for a host of titles and lived in three different countries in my 15 years-plus as a freelancer. But I've always come back home to Stuff eventually, where I specialise in writing about cameras, streaming services and being tragically addicted to Destiny.