This show the huge potential for what we are doing here : DIY drone. Base on the feature offer by the Sensefly or Gatewings, I think we can easily create a system with similar capability under 1500 USD. I'm not sure any proven flying wing design but a Skywalker 1900, APM 2.5, Mission planner, Canon powershot S100 GPS with CHDK and some standard RC equipment is all we need to do aerial mapping.
I agree a large parts of the price go to " it just work" and they focus on specific target of customer. If the result is worth good money then it will be a good business investment.
The "it just works" factor is one thing, but for $20k you would also get good support and training (I would hope). If you are a mining or construction company doing survey work every day, $20k is spare change.
It's either, pay $20k for something that works and has dedicated phone and email support, or pay $1000 for something that you need your people to fix themselves. It's the difference between hobby grade products and commercial products. When you are paying your people $150k+ on very isolated mine sites, as is typical here in Western Australia, then the $20k option looks good.
On the downside, I'm not sure that this plane is very robust, so it would be interesting to see how it goes in an industrial setting, boucing around in the back of a ute (pickup) on the way to and from jobs.
OK, So SenseFly a Swiss Company producing lightweight turnkey drones has joined Parrot a French Company who produces a highly capable hobbyist multicopter.
I don't think the real point for us is to be buying $20,000.00 drones (which you may notice aren't even for sale in the US) no doubt thanks to our hamstrung FAA.
The real point here is that Parrot is acquiring some really significant and highly developed technology, some of which may actually filter down to us lowly consumers (where the real money is).
Basically, cool, I can't wait to see what Parrot does with it (for us).
The Apple "It just werks!" isn't a bad idea, but that price point is so high for that model. I can see them selling something bigger with more payload and range that works out of the box for that price.
Also, I would assume the support to making something just work out of the box would have to be top notch too.
As others have said that is not Parrots product. Its tipping a nod to their investment in Pix4D to the tune of $2.4 million last year. The Sensefly platform is impressive in flight as Jeff says it just works. That's much the same feeling I have about my beat up old Atto wing it just works.
It's very expensive but there's a lot to be said for "it just works"! The guys buying these are going out and producing $5k of imagery in a day, which is why they have done pretty well. I'm surprised Parrot, who got big in the mass production "UAV" market, isn't focusing on the same thing with Sensefly.
Comments
And I thought the AR Drone was over-priced!
@keeyen: Exactly what I'm doing!
This show the huge potential for what we are doing here : DIY drone. Base on the feature offer by the Sensefly or Gatewings, I think we can easily create a system with similar capability under 1500 USD. I'm not sure any proven flying wing design but a Skywalker 1900, APM 2.5, Mission planner, Canon powershot S100 GPS with CHDK and some standard RC equipment is all we need to do aerial mapping.
I agree a large parts of the price go to " it just work" and they focus on specific target of customer. If the result is worth good money then it will be a good business investment.
The "it just works" factor is one thing, but for $20k you would also get good support and training (I would hope). If you are a mining or construction company doing survey work every day, $20k is spare change.
It's either, pay $20k for something that works and has dedicated phone and email support, or pay $1000 for something that you need your people to fix themselves. It's the difference between hobby grade products and commercial products. When you are paying your people $150k+ on very isolated mine sites, as is typical here in Western Australia, then the $20k option looks good.
On the downside, I'm not sure that this plane is very robust, so it would be interesting to see how it goes in an industrial setting, boucing around in the back of a ute (pickup) on the way to and from jobs.
OK, So SenseFly a Swiss Company producing lightweight turnkey drones has joined Parrot a French Company who produces a highly capable hobbyist multicopter.
I don't think the real point for us is to be buying $20,000.00 drones (which you may notice aren't even for sale in the US) no doubt thanks to our hamstrung FAA.
The real point here is that Parrot is acquiring some really significant and highly developed technology, some of which may actually filter down to us lowly consumers (where the real money is).
Basically, cool, I can't wait to see what Parrot does with it (for us).
Backgrounder news dated July 2012 - SenseFly joins Parrot
They are both blobs with wings, but other than that, no.
The Apple "It just werks!" isn't a bad idea, but that price point is so high for that model. I can see them selling something bigger with more payload and range that works out of the box for that price.
Also, I would assume the support to making something just work out of the box would have to be top notch too.
As others have said that is not Parrots product. Its tipping a nod to their investment in Pix4D to the tune of $2.4 million last year. The Sensefly platform is impressive in flight as Jeff says it just works. That's much the same feeling I have about my beat up old Atto wing it just works.
Less is always more.
It's very expensive but there's a lot to be said for "it just works"! The guys buying these are going out and producing $5k of imagery in a day, which is why they have done pretty well. I'm surprised Parrot, who got big in the mass production "UAV" market, isn't focusing on the same thing with Sensefly.
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