The Best VR Drones in 2021: Drones with Virtual Reality!

Buyer’s Guide: VR Drones

At its core, a VR drone is just essentially an FPV drone with goggles. Therefore, getting a good FPV drone usually translates well into a stellar VR experience.

Here are some consideration you need to make for FPV and VR drones:

FPV Frequency

A drone’s signals usually travel in specific frequencies. In the case of an FPV drone, the control signal for the flight should be in a different frequency as the FPV video feed.

Drone frequencies range from 900 MHz all the way to 5.8 GHz. Frequency controls a lot of a signal’s characteristics. Lower frequencies allow for a more extended range since a signal can travel farther, plus they can easily penetrate through obstacles. However, they also have lower bandwidth, so video transmission in lower frequencies are often inferior in quality.

The two most commonly used frequencies are 5.8 GHz and 2.4 GHz. There are plenty more, like the newer 3.3 GHz, but a lot of them are illegal to use in most countries.

5.8 GHz is the most widespread and popular frequency. It provides a high data rate, so live footage quality is better. It also has a decent range, is legal in many countries, and is cheaper to produce. Plus, it doesn’t interfere with the control signal, which is usually in the 2.4 GHz and 900 Mhz channels.

The other frequency, 2.4 GHz, offers a better range but does not have high bandwidth like 5.8 GHz. That’s why it’s mostly used for controlling the drone.

This is also the frequency that WiFi uses, hence why most drones are WiFi-compatible. This makes it possible to connect to your smartphone, allowing you to control your drone. While inexpensive with decent range, 2.4 GHz can encounter a lot of interference with other wireless devices and appliances.

Now, why is this important? Because it determines the range of your drone, which we’ll cover next.

Range

The range is a simple way to describe the transmitting power of your drone. The more powerful it is, the further out it can travel. This means you can control your drone from longer distances with a more extended range.

As we mentioned, the control signal and FPV signal are two totally different things, each operating separately. Since FPV has a more significant demand in terms of bandwidth, the FPV range is usually shorter than the control signal. The best case, of course, is to have them both at the same distance.

A longer range doesn’t just mean you can go out at bigger distances. Because the signal strength is stronger, this makes for a better control signal as well for shorter distances. Your drone becomes much more responsive, and there’s less risk of the signal dropping while flying your drone.

The range is totally dependent on your application, but aim for a range of 500m and up, except for racing drones where 100m or shorter are the norms. 

Camera

The camera is the primary way that the drone sees its environment, so this is an important consideration as well. 

Note that the camera’s resolution doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the resolution the FPV will be on. Since higher resolutions like 4K are more bandwidth-heavy and might introduce lag, FPV is usually done at lower resolutions like 720p or 1080p HD. In either case, these are actually good enough. Just make sure your transmission system can handle the added load on 1080p.

Apart from resolution, Field of View (FOV) is another important consideration. This controls how much of the environment you can see. Higher FOV will give you a broader, more panoramic view. This is especially useful for racing drones since you can see more fully and react much quicker around obstacles.

For flying outside of racing, FOV is a matter of preference, but we’re partial to FOVs of around 120 – 130 degrees.

Flight Time

Flight time is that one thing drone pilots can’t get enough of! Of course, “the longer, the better” is the goal here. How long your drone can fly depends on its battery capacity. The bigger the capacity, the longer it can fly. 

Battery life is vital when flying in FPV mode because the continuous live streaming of video feed in real-time can drain the battery that much faster. Therefore, you need a much bigger capacity to enjoy FPV flying more.

We recommend a minimum of around 15 minutes of flight time. This is usually the maximum when you’re flying conservatively, and turning on FPV will get you far less than that. So it’s better to have a buffer of sorts.

Of course, if your drone has a short flight time, the workaround is to have spare batteries on hand. These can extend the time your drone can fly, with only a small delay in between for swapping.

Easy Takeoff/Landing

When you’re flying in FPV mode, it can be a challenge to launch and land your drone. It takes some precision, which can be relieved by a simple feature called One Touch Takeoff/Landing.

With One-Touch Takeoff/Landing, you can do the entire taking off and landing sequence with just the push of a button. This is handy when you need to land your drone in a hurry when you’re in an emergency, for example.

GPS Features

Having an onboard GPS is a great tool to assist you when doing FPV flights. It opens up a host of autonomous features you might find useful.

The most crucial of them is Auto Return to Home. This makes the drone return to its takeoff point automatically whenever its battery gets critical, or if the drone goes beyond signal range. It saves you the time of having to maneuver and find a landing spot yourself. Plus, sometimes flying gets so immersive you might lose track of your drone’s battery levels.

Then you have other autonomous flight modes, like Waypoint Mode. This mode allows you to lay down points that your drone will follow automatically. If you want to let the drone go on autopilot and simply be there just to enjoy FPV, then you might want to try this one.

You can also try things like Orbit Mode, which directs the drone to automatically circle around a point of interest, such as a landmark. Again, it allows you to enjoy the 360-view without having to control the drone manually.

Obstacle Avoidance

One of the problems of flying in VR mode is that you can’t see beyond your drone’s vision range. And since you won’t have the peripheral vision or perception like you usually would, you’ll have blind spots to your drone’s sides and back. 

This makes you prone to hitting obstacles on those areas and makes backward and sideways flying particularly risky. This is the one advantage of Line of Sight because you always see the drone’s surroundings at all times.

The way around this is with an Obstacle Avoidance System. Drones with this feature have sensors on the front, as well as on the sides and/or back, depending on the drone. These sensors are capable of detecting obstacles in advance. It will then either inform you so you can avoid it, or instruct the drone to maneuver around them automatically.

The VR Headset (or FPV Goggles)

Of course, a VR setup won’t be complete without a proper VR headset, also called FPV goggles. Since it’s such a vital part of the whole experience, it’s worthwhile to find the best one for you.

Here are a few things you need to consider with FPV goggles

Types of Goggles

There are generally two types of FPV goggles: box and low-profile or slimline goggles.

Box goggles are nothing more than a 3 to 6 inch LCD screen fitted onto a headset. Some VR headsets don’t have one built-in, relying on your smartphone to act as the screen.

Since they utilize a larger screen, box goggles tend to be bigger and heavier, which can put a strain on some people. One the other hand, some users find the bigger frame of box goggles much more comfortable to wear. Box goggles tend to be cheaper too, so there’s that.

Low profile or slimline goggles, on the other hand, uses two smaller LCD screens, one for each eye. Because of their size, these tiny screens can be placed closer to your eye, allowing these goggles to be much more compact.

Slimline goggles have the advantage of compactness and weight. Since they’re lighter, they don’t put too much strain on the wearer’s head. They’re also much more portable than box goggles.

In the end, choosing one over the other is a matter of budget and preference. Both will give you an immersive experience, but you have to choose the one that’s comfortable for you.

Aspect Ratio

The FPV goggle’s aspect ratio refers to the ratio of the screen width vs. the height. In VR headsets, they come in either 4:3 or 16:9. While choosing one over the other is mostly based on preference. 

An aspect ratio of 4:3 is the one most commonly used by drone cameras, hence why most VR headsets have it as a default. It results in an almost square frame that feels like having a narrower FOV.

16:9, while still uncommon, is quickly gaining in popularity. This is due to the fact that this aspect ratio is wider, giving a much more cinematic feel and broader field of view.

Whichever you choose, however, you do need to match the aspect ratio of both your VR headset and the drone for the best results. If not, the footage on your FPV will not display as expected.

For example, most FPV drones transmit at an aspect ratio of 4:3. If you used 16:9 VR goggles for it, then the live feed will look stretched. If the reversed happened (4:3 goggles with 16:9 drone), then the footage will look squished.

The good news is that some goggles can switch between 4:3 and 16:9. Most achieve this by cropping the footage instead of squishing/stretching it, avoiding a distorted look.

Resolution

Like your camera, resolution refers to the total number of pixels your FPV goggle can display. Most goggles come in resolutions ranging from 320 x 240 all the way to 1280 x 720.

Generally speaking, the higher the resolution, the better the picture quality. Or at least, that’s how it’s supposed to be.

With FPV, however, it’s not as simple as that. The quality of your video stream will still largely be dictated by the drone’s camera and, most importantly, video transmitter.

Basically, what we’re saying that you won’t benefit much from a 1080p HD or even 2K resolution goggles if your drone is only capable of streaming in 720p HD.

By the way, aspect ratio and resolution also go hand in hand. For analog transmission (the usual with racing drones), the resolution of the video is usually in the PAL or NTSC format, which is 720 x 576 and 720 x 486, respectively. Both benefit with goggles that have a 4:3 aspect ratio and 800 x 600 resolutions.

For digital FPV cameras, the resolution is usually sent at 720p HD. In these cases, a 16:9 aspect ratio with 1280 x 720 resolutions is the way to go.

Goggle FOV

The goggle’s FOV is, in simple terms, how far the screen is from the user’s eye. In technical terms, this is measured as the angle between the eye and the corners of the FPV screen.

The wider the angle, the bigger the screen appears, and the more immersive it is for the user. However, there is a limit. If the screen becomes large enough, the eye needs to move around to be able to see different parts of the picture.

You can easily see this action by placing your smartphone in front of you. Too close, and it’s hard to see, too far away, and it becomes less immersive and less detailed.

Box goggles have a typical FOV range of 50 – 80 degrees, while low profile goggles have 25 – 50 degrees. Goggle FOV is a matter of personal preference; however, 30 degrees seems to be the absolute minimum. Anything lower than this can make the drone hard to fly in FPV.

Interpupillary Distance (IPD)

Interpupillary Distance (IPD) refers to the distance between the two pupils, a fact that is relevant to two-screen low-profile goggles. If the IPD of your goggles and your eyes don’t match, the footage you see will appear blurry.

You can opt to try on a goggle before buying to see if it matches your IPD, but you can’t always do this. Your best bet is just to buy goggles with adjustable IPD. This allows your goggles to be flexible enough to be used by just about anyone.

Internal Fan

One of the most annoying things when wearing goggles is fog forming on the lenses. This is especially prevalent in hot or humid weather. To combat this, some FPV goggles have a small fan built-in that blows a stream of air to remove any fog forming.

This is a highly recommended feature to get when shopping for goggles!

HDMI Output

Some goggles have an HDMI port that allows you to connect the goggles with a whole slew of computers and devices. One common use is connecting it to a computer with an FPV simulator, which allows you to train using a virtual simulated world. 

Or you could just connect it to watch movies using your FPV goggles.

Digital Video Recording (DVR)

Goggles with DVR capability allow you to record your video feed onto an SD card inserted into your FPV goggle’s port for later viewing. This is particularly useful for drone racers, as they can use it to review racing performance after a competition.

It’s also an added insurance policy to record drone crashes to find out the ultimate cause of it. This serves the same purpose as a dashboard camera mounted on cars.

Tips for Flying in VR Mode

While flying in VR mode can be immersive, it can also leave you vulnerable as you can’t see anything else! Here are a few tips and safety precautions you need to consider first to fly in VR as issue-free as possible.

Don’t fly in a crowded place

Flying FPV mode in a crowded area is a bad idea, both for you, the drone, and everyone around you. For one, operating a drone with many people in it is dangerous, FPV or not. You have a much higher chance of hitting someone, putting both your drone and the person at risk.

Also remember that when you’re piloting in FPV mode, you’re basically a sitting duck. This makes you a juicy target to pickpockets and thieves! At the minimum, people might knock you over, causing severe injury to you and your gear.

If possible, have someone near you

If you absolutely have to fly in a public place with some people walking around, be sure you’re not alone. Have someone to spot you and watch over your things. He or she can make sure both you and the people around you are safe from your drone piloting. 

Turn off Headless Mode

When you fly in FPV mode, whatever you do, don’t turn on Headless Mode! 

If you’re not sure what it is, it’s a beginner mode that allows you to control the drone regardless of its orientation. Turning left will always make the drone turn left based on YOUR orientation, irrespective of where the drone is faced.

By now, you should see how much havoc this can cause when you’re in FPV! Because your orientation and the drone’s are now one and the same, turning right on the controller will not necessarily make you turn right! It can quickly turn into a convoluted mess!

So reserve Headless Mode when you do Line of Sight (LOS) flying.

Take breaks

VR is an immersive experience, but it can also be very disconcerting if done for long periods. Not to mention, it can cause strains to your eyes if you’re staring at a screen for too long. Prolonged VR exposure can also make you start to lose orientation of the real world when you take off your VR headset.

So take break times off the VR headset in between flight runs. We recommend taking a break every 30 – 45 minutes of flying.