Looking for feedback from the community. We currently build unmanned vehicle for military and commercial applications in the USA. Our current commercial units are obviously very similar to the consumer drones.
What if any features are community members looking for in a RTF consumer drone?
We currently develop our systems under IRAD funds so this is not a Kickstarter type program.
Examples:
Multi-Rotor: Longer Endurance, Installed Video Links, Foldable, More payload capability, Ethernet based? Most of these examples are givens.
Fixed Wing: Larger payload capability, longer endurance, etc? We're getting ready to release a fixed wing system with up to 3lbs. of belly and nose mount payload capability.
Maybe the answer is the market is already flooded and there isn't a need.
Any feedback would be appreciated
Best
Bill D.
Comments
OPEN SOURCE is not essentially god thing if aiming at corporate and commercial users. As their period of adaptation and life cycle of system is longer. With open source there is high risk community changes something important for them and their system, especially if custom integrations are in place, is not in working condition or at least cannot be updated. Customization of open source products in long term can be far more expensive than opting for closed source where you have guaranty of compatibility and that your individual requirements will be taken in account or at least solution offered in timely manner before changes happen.
For me as a hobbist, I want a clean, stabilized camera pod for my OctoQuad, Y6 and or Hexa Copter which supports Pan & Tilt for a reasonable price. Too many products out there are crude in design albeit functional. I like the pods seen on commercial and military applications and one DIY Droner has something very close but fall short of supporting a GoPro camera. Maybe a POD which can support both EO and IR would be nice as well.
I haven't foulnd anyone who sells plans or the units for a reasonable price. Tall order,but this is what I want for next Christmas. :-)
One forgets that most overlooked aspect currently lacking in all segments is service. Generally no company offers any SLA. That is what makes it nearly impossible to use commonly available vehicles for real work. You cannot estimate necessary number of drones to have at least 1 operational without guaranteed time it will be repaired or replaced. Take any drone on market, make it corporate grade product on paper and thats it. Even without changes in actual technical reliability.
Look into adding an onboard gas generator to a multi rotor UAS. We are not going to have the type of endurance available that fixed wing aircraft inherently have as an advantage. With a gas generator charging the battery even with the huge weight penalty your flight time will increase significantly. Maybe see if these guys based in baltimore could look into it.
http://www.sullivanuav.com/home.html
2 hours flight time. Ability to fly 5ft in front of you & track your movement. Small enough to fit in a backpack.
Fixed wing: Removable wings, though EPP foam body, Low speed capable
my advice? Do what apple did to the smartphone. Dont reinvent the wheel; just make it easy to use. Most people using drones today are tecjie types. Make a drone truly idiot proof (yes, it may mean less bells and whistles, but make it so that my mom could use it) and your customer base has just trippled in size...Of cpurse, that is easier said than done, but that is my way of thonking...
Man that's a tough question. Seems like the market flooded with new ideas fairly quickly with all types of things. 3DR approach lends itself to the armature builder but now offers complete units for mapping/survey/photography. DJI is pretty much a photography platform. As for features 3DR customers seem to do their own thing experimenting with what's possible so the features you suggested can be done by DIY guys. If you're a hardware company, I'd suggest manufacturing items that are modular that can easily be incorporated into any platform. Anything to do with wireless communication via radio or GSM that could talk to servers and is easy to setup. I know there is stuff out there but look at the "gaps" in the market. Good luck and look forward to see what you have to offer.
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