Commercial drones have moved beyond the flying stage to serve as carriers of payloads with onboard intelligence and fast data-processing.
A decade ago, the DJI Phantom and competitors turned quadcopters into aerial cameras. “But from an engineering perspective that definition is now obsolete,” writes Vladimir Spinko in DroneLife.
Spinko is founder of Aery Bizkaia, a startup working on AI-powered radar and sensor systems for drone-based surveying and humanitarian mine work. “In contrast, modern drones are defined by what they do rather than how they fly: their payload capabilities, onboard intelligence, and data processing efficiency,” he adds.
Spinko’s message is similar to what others in the industry are saying, including Ambarella, an edge AI semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, CA. Prior to CES 2026, Ambarella just announced that its CV5 AI-capable System-on-Chip for 8K imaging is being used in drone maker Antigravity’s A1 360 drone. During CES, Ambarella will sponsor a demo of the A1 drone with its CV5 capabilities.
“Drones are quickly transforming into intelligent edge aerial robots, capturing, processing and understanding the world in real time,” said Fermi Wang, CEO of Ambarella, in a statement.
“The Antigravity A1 reflects our ambition to push drone imaging forward, capturing more detail, more reliably, in more situations,” added Antigravity CEO Michael Shabu. “By leveraging Ambarella’s CV5 SoC for high-quality imaging with its integrated CVflow architecture for on-device AI acceleration and inferencing, we can deliver intelligent capabilities at the edge while staying focused on efficiency and performance.”
Sensors in the A1 include forward and downward sensors as well as bottom infrared sensors. Other specs are available on Antigravity’s website. Best Buy offers the A1 standard bundle with remote controller, first person display goggles and other gear for $1,599.
Ambarella’s focus with CV5 is designed to help drone vendors create autonomous robotics capabilities and efficient AI performance for longer flights. The SoC also supports cinematic imaging. The company is working with customers to use AI in drones for real-time detection, classification and decision support , alongside premium imaging for recording video with 360 views of a flight path.
Drone applications have advanced to include aerial inspections of aging infrastructure, such as tall bridges, as well as construction work and surveys. They are also deployed in precision agriculture and by energy and utility companies as well as industrial sites and public safety.