The web is abuzz with news that GoPro is expanding beyond cameras into aircraft. As drone-loving videographers already attach GoPros to their own quadrotor rigs, the San-Mateo-based company figures they may as well get in on the action by producing and selling their own drones. The specs are vague, but the Wall Street Journal reports that GoPro is working on "multirotor helicopters" that will ship late next year, reportedly for more than $500 but less than $1,000.

This Air Dog drone may soon have a bit of unwelome competition

It's possible that the move came about in reaction to China's SZ DJI Technology Co., the world's largest drone manufacturer. DJI observed that many of its customers were attaching GoPros to their products; that company then started producing their own small cameras and selling them along with the drones.

It's also possible, however, that GoPro was working on this before DJI started to muscle in on their territory. The Journal, by the way, warns that when GoPro goes drone, competing drone manufacturers may be motivated to stop supporting the GoPro in favor of going the DJI route. Ah, competition.

Here's the report: