Tag: Kickstarter

X PlusOne kickstarter project – is it a Drone or a Plane?

X PlusOne kickstarter project – is it a Drone or a Plane?

December 28, 2014 12:31 | By | Add a Comment

Is it a drone? Is it a plane? No, it is the X PlusOne, a kickstarter project from team xcraft looking for backers to support the mass production of what seems to be a combination of multirotor agility together with a fixed wing speed and efficiency. Obviously drawing it’s inspiration of google’s project wing, this ariel machine (DronePlane? PlaneDrone?) can do VTOL, reach claimed speeds of 100 KPH and carry ariel photography cameras such as the GoPro and a gimbal. If proper funding goes right for the developers, they would add autonomous capabilities using the popular Pixhawk flight controller (offered by 3D-Robotics).

Want to support this project? Check out the kickstarter page here.  Also checkout the video after the break.

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Event38 Bluetooth Telemetry Bridge Review

Event38 Bluetooth Telemetry Bridge Review

April 6, 2014 14:52 | By | Add a Comment

After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Event38 set out t0 eliminate the need for laptops on the flying field. Sure you can use bluetooth to control and monitor your drone, but that only gets you how far, 30 meters, maybe 40? If you want to use a 430MHz or 900MHz telemetry transmitter, you need an android tablet/phone capable of USB host mode, AND it’s another thing connected to your mobile device.

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Event38’s Bluetooth bridge eliminates all this by offering you a simple self-contained, self-powered device you can just bring to the flying field, clip onto your belt and forget about, using your phone or tablet to control even the most complex and demanding Drone missions. But is the $140 price tag justified? Find out in our in-depth review after the break!

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GameOfDrones kickstarts crashproof quadcopter frame

GameOfDrones kickstarts crashproof quadcopter frame

January 13, 2014 12:27 | By | 1 Comment

GameOfDrones has been busy organizing multicopter “tournaments” where, as part of the game, bits and pieces are sure to be broken off now and then. They’ve been thinking about reducing the bill of crashes, and are now kickstarting the World’s Toughest Action-Sports Airframe.

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USD $125.- gets you such a quadrotor frame. They’re made of thermo-formed polymer, and are claimed to be one of the most crash-resilient quad frames ever made. Their goal is not to sell RTF quadcopters however, only a handful of backers will receive a complete copter. Instead you are kickstarting the frame only, you bring the motors, flight controller, and the guts to engage in drone fights.

Check out some sweet shotgun vs. quadcopter action after the break.

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Pocket Drone Kickstarter

Pocket Drone Kickstarter

January 9, 2014 15:21 | By | Add a Comment

Do you wish you had a pocketable multirotor that can fly autonomous missions controlled by your tablet? The Pocket Drone is now looking for backers on Kickstarters, and their concept looks rather interesting.

pocket1It’s essentially an APM powered tricopter with a nifty foldable frame that also acts as a case for the flight controller and GPS. Several packages are available, including a bind and fly package for DSM transmitters, as well as a RTF package with transmitter and a video package that includes everything along with an onboard HD 1080p camera.

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Price for the bind and fly Kickstarter backing level is $445, the RTF costs $495, and with the HD camera price reaches $595. Since this is a kickstarter and you’re essentially funding the development and set-up cost of the company, this is not a bad deal. Especially considering you’re getting the world’s first civilian autonomous drone that you can just pull out of your backpack and have fly waypoint missions that you plan on your android tablet or phone.

Of course you CAN just 3D-print your own frame and get all this for a fraction of that price. But that’s the price you pay for convenience, which is exactly what companies like DJI earn their money with.

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Swiftbot wants your money for kickstarting a waterproof drone

Swiftbot wants your money for kickstarting a waterproof drone

December 6, 2013 15:27 | By | Add a Comment

The Swiftbot is a waterproof multirotor drone. Or rather, it will be, if they manage to secure enough funds. Your funds, to be more exact, and via their Kickstarter campaign. The idea is for the quadcopter to be able to land on water and submerge cameras, hydrophones etc. under the water surface to take pictures, record audio, and so forth.

swiftbotThey use the excellent ArduCopter which means this will be completely MavLink-compatible, so you can use your existing apps on iOS, Android, Linux, Mac and Windows to control it. Pledging 99 dollars gets you… a 3d-printed flyable micro model of the Swiftbot. The only bigger pledge is $199 for early access to the 3D-printed parts library. There’s no way to pledge for a complete system, or even printed parts, which may explain why this kickstarter is at just over $300.- with only 16 days to go…

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