The Nixie, a camera with sky-high potential

The Nixie is a wearable drone designed to spring from the wrist and take to the skies in order to remotely snap an aerial selfie of its owner.

The-Nixie-Photo-AFP

The Nixie is a wearable drone designed to spring from the wrist and take to the skies in order to remotely snap an aerial selfie of its owner.

One of 10 devices being developed by competing teams as part of Intel's Make it Wearable Challenge, the Nixie is described by its creators, Christoph Kohstall, Jelena Jovanovic, and Michael Niedermayr, as the first 'flyable and wearable camera.'

Like a Transformer, when it is called into action -- by a flick of the wrist -- it automatically converts into a quadcopter drone and will soar into the air. And, as it knows exactly where its owner is, it can get into the right position to ensure it snaps an image that puts him or her at the center of the frame; even if it's halfway up a mountain.

And it's when Nixie is considered in those terms, as a device for capturing those true action shots -- scoring an incredible solo goal during a football match, conquering a cliff face, or managing to kiss the apex of the most demanding curve of a racetrack, that it starts to make sense as a device.

The winning entry of Intel's challenge will be announced on November 3 and the team behind it will receive $500,000 plus access to mentoring and other expertise in order to take their concept to the next level.

And, if team Nixie is successful, then expect to see a remote control unit and a range of photography effects and settings being added to the prototype.