The ‘Nixie’ wearable drone camera wins Intel’s Make it Wearable competition

THE problem with taking selfies if that you have to hold the camera with your hand. But a new invention — destined to be a big hit — is set to change all that.

PUT this on your wish list right now: a wearable piece of hi-tech that enables you take a better selfie.

Nixie, the world’s first ‘wearable camera that can fly’ has just been announced as the winner of the $500,000 grand prize in Intel’s Make it Wearable competition.

Before deployment ... the Nixie is worn like a wristwatch.

Press a button and the device — which resembles a state-of-the-art wristwatch — releases itself from your arm and unfolds into an X-shape, with a rotor on each of its four corners and a swivelling camera in the centre.

It then takes flight, all the while taking photos or recording video, and using motion sensors to avoid obstacles.

You can set a timer for when you want Nixie to return to your wrist or summon it back by simply gesturing with your hand, catching it and putting it back on your wrist.

A better way to take a selfie ... the Nixie enables users to film themselves from a distance.

The project, led by Stanford University physics researcher Dr Christoph Kohstall, beat out a low-cost robotic hand built by a UK team and a smart glove designed by a German group to take out the top prize.

A prototype has been developed, but don’t get too excited about the idea of having your own eye in the sky — no date has yet been set for when Nixie will be flying on to the shelves.