Lately I have been following the kikstarter project “The pocket Drone” which is having a huge impact.
First of all I am a bit pissed off because in the kikstarter project https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/airdroids/the-pocket-drone-your-personal-flying-robot there is just this mention to Ardupilot!
• APM compatible flight controller 6-axis accelerometers, 3 axis gyroscopes, barometric sensor (altitude)
There is not any comment or anything relating DIYD or 3DR!
Second in this interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyvfu23eMOQ they present the product without even mentioning Arducopter, but when they are asked on what OS do they use they say “currently is based in the arducopter OS, is using an opencourse plataform that we’ve added layers on top” (I am sure you did…) at minute 8:30 if you want to here it.
I think that is totally immoral that a guys that all what did was print a tricoper and arrange with Chinese manufacturer for cheap electronics, pretend to be what they pretend to be!
But the truly important problem is not that. On both sites they are giving to understand that this is product that does not need any special attention or precaution, even less any experience! In a lot of moments things like “it always seemed like either mom or dad (the photographer) was missing from family pictures. We’re proud to announce the launch of The Pocket Drone to address these challenges. Many of our supporters are calling it the "GoPro of drones." “ are said. What! How can you compare a product like Arducopter to a GoPro camera? That just needs you to press a button to record! When in the documentation is said hundreds of times that this is something to take seriously (and I think is not said enough).
So I think this is actually a fraud, they are pretending to sell a thing that they are not selling, but even more important to my point of view is that for the moment there is 1200 people that has not any experience with drones that bought one (I say 1200 because there is 1200 totally RTF kits sold at the moment on Kikstarter).
So in a few months at least 1200 people will go out with a drone thinking that is as easy to control as a gopro. And they all, all without any exception will crash and god knows what else!
I find it really worrying, and I think that since we are the community that is actually behind that project (even though they pretend we’re not) we should take some actions about it. Not allowing that people is tricked, and not allowing not necessary accidents to happen.
Comments
Get a law made. Until then, there are no regulations governing the usage of other footage passed off as another other than copyright violations. I'm truly playing Devil's advocate here. As I believe one should have the decency to display footage recorded by that product...but I am also a fan of freedom and capitalism, and believe consumers should do their own research before buying a product...as such you did.
betwen them and kickstarter? What about all of the people that are paying!
To advertize in televison, you are forced to follow some rules, like that any footage that you show, should be of the product that you sell...
I am not a lawyer, but to understand this you dont need to be one.
Au contraire Quadz, I read every single comment. So he broke a couple of kickstarter rules. That's between them and Kickstarter. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, so if you don't want to contribute then don't. But take every single commercial on television and tell me that they are %100 truthful and use ACTUAL footage from it working. If you can answer yes to that, then you make valid points towards this campaign.
What fraud? Please tell me? And what's this about contributing if you purchase an APM? That wasn't in the clause when I clicked the "Confirm order" button. It's very ignorant of anyone to say that these guys are doing something wrong. Many companies sell products to people that are potentially dangerous. What kind of world would we be if we required anyone who used anything to first be licensed on that? How would one practice? And lastly, how can anyone contribute if they have not developed anything new for the software? If I take an open-source component, build an awesome airframe, make it easy to use, inplement the open-source component, and sell it as a plu-and-play system, why should I be required to contribute anything other than money for the component?? That's how businesses work. They are taking products, improving or adding them to a larger product, and selling the larger product to people who do not have the time and/or means to start from scratch.
+1 Gary, at first i thought you were telling my story!
I see the point of some of you, that is inevitable that so many drones will be sold to people that is not really aware of what a drone is.
Anyway, i dont think that this excuses the campain for commiting a fraud!
I tell folks if they have not crashed they are not trying hard enough.
good on them I reckon.. everyone always looking to bring a fella down lol.. get over it guys..
+1000 - That starter page is worth thousands of dollars, laterally...
I've been flying R/C for years and I still crash, just like everybody else in this hobby. There is a saying in the more traditional R/C community that goes something like "I you can't afford to crash it, don't fly it".
And there is a common misconception that inserting a autopilot somehow makes it crash proof. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you plan to stick with this hobby, the crash is waiting around the next corner. It's not a question of if you will ever crash, but how often.
For those interested in the new multicopter start here page it is here:
http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/if-you-are-new-to-multicopters-sta...
It is simultaneously hilarious, very instructive and I can say from experience myself entirely factual.
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
-
5
of 7 Next