HoverAir Secures FCC Certification for Versa Drone Amidst Drone Ban Debate

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HoverAir Secures FCC Certification for Versa Drone Amidst Drone Ban Debate
Photo: Gizmodo
tech· A press review of 2 outlets

  1. The game of whack-a-drone continues elsewhere. This week, HoverAir, aka Zero Zero Robotics, announced that it had secured FCC certification for its new Versa drone, which transforms from a DJI Pocket-like camera into a flying camera by adding a pair of propeller wings. Public records show it did so by claiming its camera isn’t on the Covered List, which is true — only DJI, Autel, Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua are part of the camera ban.

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    Gizmodo

    When Zero Zero Robotics first debuted its new Versa, a gimbal vlogging camera with attachable propellers, it claimed in an email to Gizmodo that it has “received the required FCC [Federal Communications Commission] certification for sale in the [U.S].” That’s important to note, because last year the Trump White House banned all these unmanned aircraft from “covered foreign entities.” The dronemaker wasn’t able to bring last year’s water-launching HoverAir Aqua stateside, but this time it’s treating the propeller cages necessary for flight as a mere accessory.

  2. Without FCC certification, no device with a radio can be imported, marketed, or sold in the United States. The FCC’s ban doesn’t take away your existing drones or cameras, but it’s supposed to block new ones from coming in — but once again, it appears the FCC doesn’t have the manpower or focus to actually ground them.

  3. If you’re wondering why cameras are getting caught up in a drone ban, you’re not alone. I find it hard to believe that an almost-entirely-offline camera poses a national security threat to the United States like the Trump administration claims. But we do know how they’re getting caught in the ban. When the US government banned future foreign drones last December, it also announced it was incorporating a ban on “communications or video surveillance equipment” from DJI and Autel Robotics.

From the margins

2 details only one outlet reported

Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.

  1. 01 Gizmodo

    In any of its marketing materials, Zero Zero Robotics never uses the word “drone” or “UAS.” Still, when stating the camera’s specs for its HoverAir Versa, the company lists the product as a “2-in-1 Handheld Gimbal Camera + Intelligent Self-Flying Camera.”

  2. 02 The Verge

    As a kid, I always imagined the “black market” would be like the movies: Shady vendors hawking illicit goods along dusty streets. But if you want a banned DJI Osmo Pocket 4 or Pocket 4 Pro camera in the US, you can just reach for your phone.

Assembled from 3 corroborated claims drawn from 2 independent outlets. Every passage above is taken verbatim — Dorothy doesn't paraphrase or summarize.

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Sources (2)

  • gizmodo
  • verge

Original Articles (3)

Culture Don’t Call This Flying Camera a Drone Unless You Want It to Get Banned — Gizmodo
Consumer I bought DJI’s banned camera — it was cheap and easy — The Verge
Consumer Does giving a camera wings dodge the FCC’s drone ban? — The Verge