LAS VEGAS -- Whenever I fly my drone over water, I'm always nervous that I'll lose a few hundred dollars by submerging it Power Vision's new PowerEgg X takes care of that situation with its detachable pontoons

PowerEgg X can also be used as a handheld video camera, because its artificial intelligence can recognize familiar faces and subjects and frame them for better-finished video

The PowerEgg X is currently available in two configurations: the PowerEgg X Explorer kit is $899 and includes the drone, controller, one battery, charger, and one set of rotors; the PowerEgg X Wizard kit is $1,249 and includes all of the above everything listed above, plus a pontoon for water landing, a waterproof shell for the drone, a spare battery, and three sets of rotors

While not as compact as DJI's Mavic Air drone, the PowerEgg X is versatile With pontoons attached to its arms, it can be safely landed on the water It also comes with a clear plastic shell to allow the drone to fly in the rain; at CES, the company flew the drone under a curtain of water with no ill effects

The utility of the drone also comes into play when it is not flying By removing the arm and attaching a hand strap, the drone can be transformed into a small video camera A tripod attachment is also available

The front of the drone has a gimbal-mounted 3-axis camera that can capture video at resolutions up to 4K/60fps

Configured for flight, the PowerEgg X measures 19 x 25 x 5 inches and weighs 19 pounds According to the company, it has a top speed of 40 mph and a flight time of 30 minutes When the PowerEgg X is used as a video camera, battery life is about four hours

Using "global, non-personally identifiable big data," PowerEgg's AI learns to look for and lock onto individual faces when recording video According to the company, this capability improves the more it is used and the more others use it

The drone also has gesture control, allowing users to initiate video or photo capture with a wave of the hand or some other action, without using a controller This technology is available on many other drones, though

Finally, Power Vision has what it calls SyncVoice, which allows you to speak a voiceover into your smartphone while the drone is recording Your voice will be synthesized into the video track While this has the potential to eliminate one step in the editing process, you must make sure you don't screw up your narration

DJI drones have been dominating the consumer market and our Best Drones page for the past few years, and rightly so The company has had some of the most innovative designs coupled with smart software

With its waterproof housing, the PowerEgg X can go where DJI drones cannot and can be used even when not flying Other possible differentiators include Power Vision's AI engine; we're curious to see how it compares to DJI's drone's object tracking capabilities and whether it excels at framing shots At the very least, we have an exciting new drone to try out

For the latest news and hands-on impressions from Las Vegas, be sure to check out our CES 2020 hub