Mobile Technology

Elephant Steady camera stabilizer uses iPhone gyro to stay on the level

Elephant Steady camera stabilizer uses iPhone gyro to stay on the level
The Elephant Steady utilizes the iPhone's gyroscope and processor as its brains
The Elephant Steady utilizes the iPhone's gyroscope and processor as its brains
View 6 Images
The Elephant Steady utilizes the iPhone's gyroscope and processor as its brains
1/6
The Elephant Steady utilizes the iPhone's gyroscope and processor as its brains
It works with an accompanying app
2/6
It works with an accompanying app
The Elephant Steady on its own
3/6
The Elephant Steady on its own
A back view of the Elephant Steady
4/6
A back view of the Elephant Steady
A side view of the Elephant Steady
5/6
A side view of the Elephant Steady
A front view of the Elephant Steady
6/6
A front view of the Elephant Steady
View gallery - 6 images

One of the neat things about smartphones is the fact that when gadgets are designed to be used with them, those devices can make use of the phone's sensors and other electronics instead of incorporating their own. This, of course, means that those devices can thus be smaller and cheaper than would otherwise be possible. The Elephant Steady is a new motorized iPhone camera-stabilizing rig, that takes this approach.

Designed by Japanese tech firm Adplus, the Elephant Steady latches onto the back of an iPhone 4S or higher (or 5th-gen iPod touch) using a built-in holder. It also has a hard-wired 3.5-mm plug, that goes into the phone's headphone jack.

Once the Elephant Steady is powered up and its accompanying app is launched, the iPhone's own processor and gyroscope come into play. As soon as any slight tilts or side-to-side movements of the phone are detected by the gyro, the processor instantaneously responds by triggering the Elephant's motor to move the phone correspondingly in the opposite direction, thus canceling out the initial movement.

It works with an accompanying app
It works with an accompanying app

Should users want to tilt the phone up or down, they can do so via a trigger on the Elephant Steady's handle. The device is powered by its own rechargeable lithium-ion battery, not by the phone.

Adplus is now raising production funds for the Elephant Steady, on Kickstarter. A pledge of US$79 will get you one, when and if they're ready to go. The estimated retail price is $99.

Footage shot with it can be seen in the pitch video below.

Sources: Elephant Steady, Kickstarter

View gallery - 6 images
2 comments
2 comments
Paul van Dinther
Now, given all that. Why not simply handle the whole thing in software and give up some resolution. 1080p -> 720p
Oh right, Galaxy S3 already has that. ;-)
Slowburn
@ Paul van Dinther Because you want to be able to see the details.