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As a content creator, I've spent years testing and using the best drones to get unique shots of myself that a camera on a tripod can't match. But now that I live in NYC, where flying a drone is mostly illegal, I've sadly had to keep my camera escapades mostly grounded. But what if I could still capture dynamic tracking clips without ever taking off?
That's the question I had with Beni, a cute two wheeled camera robot from Mondo Robotics. I've put this little guy through hell challenging it to follow me as I offroaded my E-bike, explored abandoned structures and crashed it more times than I care to admit.
It's two adorable eyes and little (another word for cute) chirps made me feel bad for how bad I've banged him up, but Beni has proven to me he's not just a "toy".
Who is Beni?
Beni looks like something out of a Pixar short more than a piece of camera gear. It's small, roughly the size of a shoebox, with two big expressive eyes on its "head" that nods and shakes, and it's hard not to project a personality onto him.
But under that cute exterior is a surprisingly capable machine.
Beni moves on two motorized wheeled legs that bend and extend, accelerate up to 17.9 mph, lean into turns, crouch down, and spring upward, allowing him to hop curbs, perform flips or pick itself upright after it falls (which I sadly subjected him to many, many times).
Combine that with its built-in 4K camera that can record up to 4k 30fps or 1080p 100fps, 32GB of onboard storage (expandable with a microSD card), as well as obstacle avoidance sensors, and Beni can automatically follow me as I move around.
Manual controls are also available through a wrist-worn motion controller or the companion app which also provides a live first-person view from Beni's camera.
Beni is being pitched broadly for families, pet owners, kids or anyone who wants a fun way to capture everyday moments without holding a camera. However, I was interested in finding out how far I could push him and whether or not it was a serious hands-free video tool that could help me capture the fast-paced shots I'd normally want to use my drone for.
What is Beni good for?
The biggest win, by far, is speed and stability. Beni easily kept up as I rode my E-Bike, even when I picked up the pace on a longer stretch.
In its app, I can select between Beni tracking me from behind, alongside, orbiting, or following from a fixed point. A few quick clicks, and Beni was framing the shot on his own, and truly was my second camera operator.
Even for more casual walking or establishing shots, where I'd normally be limited to a tripod if I wanted to capture myself in frame, Beni can now follow me a few feet back and get the job done.
I thought Beni would only be able to traverse smooth roads or low cut grass, but he effectively said "hold my beer" and handled dirt, gravel, weeds and nasty bumps surprisingly well.
Yes, there were several times where this caused Beni to "trip" and lose tracking of me, but to my shock, he picked himself back up every time and was able to ride away. It got to the point where I was intentionally trying to find mounds or patches of grass that Beni would fail to get out of, but it was I who failed. I severely scrapped Beni up in the process, but he's a trooper to say the least.
And then of course, there's the fun factor. The entire time I was thinking to myself, this is like a supped-up RC car with a camera attached.
Besides his very acrobatic flipping skills, I was using Beni's agility and small size to explore some "off limit" places let's say. I sent Beni into a few abandoned structures like an obedient scout. He hopped a curb, snuck under a broken fence and revealed this massive open warehouse graffitied from floor to ceiling, and it proved to be one of the most interesting shots I captured during my test.
What isn't Beni for?
As you can probably already tell, I've been using Beni for more than his original intended purpose, and honestly, that's half the fun. That said, if I had my way or a version 2 ever came out, this is what I'd like to see.
At its most basic, I think tracking and obstacle avoidance has room for improvement. Even without my torturous testing, Beni lost me a handful of times mid-shot, or collided head-on with stationary stuff like pillars and fences. Since he then had no idea where I was, I would have to take over by using manual controls or pull out my phone to reengage tracking.
Speaking of tracking, Beni currently can only recognize people and pets. Similar to my drone, I would like to use Beni to automatically follow or orbit objects like vehicles or bikes as those are the kind of B-Roll clips I plan on using him for in the future.
Understandably, Beni's camera angle (while adjustable) is always going to be from down low. That's fine for plenty of the shots I captured, but for when I want something more eye level — it'd be interesting to see if some kind of extendable selfie stick mechanism could unlock even more.
For bonus points, I'd also love the ability to pair Beni with a wireless mic setup, similar to how my DJI mics or Insta360 mics connect directly to their respective camera systems, for the moments I want to lean on Beni as more of a primary camera instead of just for b-roll.
Am I asking for a lot? Probably. But I see Beni as a very capable tool already and know it can be used for so much more.
How much does Beni cost?
Beni is currently funding on Kickstarter, with Super Early Bird pricing starting around $549, a solid discount off its planned $799 retail price. Like any crowdfunded product, that comes with the usual caveats, this is Mondo Robotics' first hardware campaign, so there's inherent risk around delays or features shifting before units actually ship.
Shipping is expected to begin around October 2026, initially limited to a handful of countries at launch. If you're considering backing it, treat it like a Kickstarter, not a guaranteed shelf product, and go in with that expectation.
Beni has earned his place in my camera kit
Beni isn't replacing my drone or other camera gear, but he's helping me capture exciting tracking shots and leveling up my videos all while looking like it wants to be my friend.
I've crashed him more than I'd like to admit, but every time, he got back up and kept going. That's more than I can say for most of the gear I've tested.
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