Drone-in-a-Phone takes selfies to another level

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"93377","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]A finalist in the British Inventors Project is offering photography lovers a new take on self-portraits, thanks to a personal photography drone which fits neatly into a 3D-printed modular iPhone case.

Still a prototype, Drone-in-a-Phone is turning heads for its slide-out compartment, from which emerges a small quadcopter.

It's tethered to the handset so it cannot be lost in strong winds, but there's still enough reach to allow the phone to take pictures at "otherwise unattainable angles", says the Daily Mail.

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While most micro-drones typically have a flight time of about four to five minutes, the Drone-in-a-Phone can go for almost half an hour as it's powered by the handset's battery rather than an onboard cell.

The creators at London-based Buzz Technology promise the drone will carry tech worthy of smartphone photography. Cameras between 8-12 megapixels can be attached to the little craft, with three different lenses available to fix onto the quadrotor: one for standard photos, another for wide angle fish-eye photography and the last one for high detail macro shots.

Nor do the camera sensors have to be attached to the drone. Buzz Technology suggests mounting them to a pair of glasses or even the side of a car, allowing users to take action shots without potentially damaging their phones.

There's even a built-in selfie stick – an antenna pulls out of the case with one of the camera modules attached to it.

The Drone-in-a-Phone hits the funding platform Kickstarter in September this year. Should the concept be realised, says Ubergizmo, "it would surely make all of the other phone cases in the market inferior".

According to Digital Trends, Drone-in-a-Phone is more than a playful gimmick. Modular phones and accessories "are going to be big news in 2016", with premium handsets such as the LG G5 arriving on the scene, with its case an example of the more extreme end of modular mobile technology.