| Spark | |
|---|---|
 DJI Spark | |
| General information | |
| Type | Unmanned aerial vehicle |
| National origin | China |
| Manufacturer | DJI |
| Status | Discontinued |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 2017–2019 |
| Introduction date | May 2017 |
The DJI Spark (company designation Model MM1A) [1] is a teleoperated compact quadcopter drone for personal and commercial aerial photography and videography use, released by the Chinese technology company DJI. The Spark had a short production run of only two years before it was replaced by the Mavic Mini.
DJI announced the Spark in May 2017. [2] The Spark is a small quadcopter with forward and downward obstacle avoidance sensors and satellite navigation. [3] [4] The drone is lighter and smaller than the company's Mavic Pro, but lacks folding arms, making it roughly the same size as a folded Mavic. [5] [6] [7] The Spark has a 12-megapixel camera with a 1/2.3" CMOS sensor mounted on a two-axis gimbal capable of capturing 1080p video at 30 frames per second. [8] [9] The Spark was the first DJI drone to be controlled by hand gestures. [10] [11] [12] Originally, users controlling the drone with hand gestures still had to use their phone to control the camera, but a software update in August 2017 added the ability to record video with a new set of gestures. [13]
Upon release, the Spark competed with drones such as the GoPro Karma and Yuneec International Breeze. [14] After reports of Spark drones falling from the sky in August 2017, DJI identified the issue as a software bug and released a firmware update to fix it. DJI also remotely grounded any drones that did not receive the update. [15] [16] [17]
In August 2018, DJI collaborated with Line Friends to release a version of the Spark marked to represent the character Brown. [18]
The Spark was replaced by the Mavic Mini in 2019. [19] Unlike the Spark, which is required to be registered in most countries due to its 300 g (0.66 lb) weight, the Mavic Mini was designed to bypass drone registration regulations by weighing under 250 g (0.55 lb). [20]
Data from DJI Spark manual [21]
General characteristics
Performance
Avionics
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
