Robot Dragonfly, RIP

Ouroboros December 2, 2015 at 6:16pm

Slight thread necromancy here, but the TechJect CEO did a presentation for TedX in may that had some interesting designs near the end.

TedX Video

Not sure if a quad motor glider wing with wingtip folding (like a bird tucking/bending wings forward) for VTOL is actually preferable though.

armen t November 9, 2015 at 9:01pm

too awesome,

I'm sure the military applications for the dragonfly will resurrect it. in nano size

I suggest that any project that uses C.G.I. must have it stated on the video BOLDLY.

F1P November 8, 2015 at 11:59pm

"Go Fund Yoself" SP s18e1 :)

Moderator

Gary Mortimer November 8, 2015 at 9:40pm

Ouroboros November 8, 2015 at 9:32pm

As a supporter/victim of this particular crowdfunding campaign, it makes me wonder if some measure of design/software/IP escrow in case of failure would appease some people? If the remaining designs and BoM could be shopped around to other major drone makers after a crowdfunding flameout, it might provide a means for recovering either via asset sale or contract design/manufacturing (assuming previous crowdfunders were willing to throw good money after bad and a major vendor was willing to take the risk...)

Though in this case, who would be even willing to take this on? The onithopter community within the world of RC/drones is already small. The guys behind Bionic Bird would probably be best from a tech standpoint, but they probably don't have the resources to take on a quadwing ornithopter project. From a hardware perspective one of quadcopter microframe manufacturers would be a closer fit, but the complex drivetrain is something those vendors have no experience with. The large frame vendors like 3DR may have the capability but don't want to blow their own resources on a potential money pit.

Is there really no other way than nobody getting a drone and the design work being lost to the void?

Craig Issod November 8, 2015 at 7:12pm

A couple million dollars ain't what it used to be!

I think that is a big problem with the (usually young) designers who put forward these projects. A million dollars used to be a lot of money. But these days it will get you a shack in the Bay Area (not quite.....maybe 2 shacks).

Also, as we all know, ideas are cheap. We could sit around all day long and brainstorm about concepts which have real merit.

10 years ago I came up with a neat idea about a new product. I patented it and then started doing some design and prototyping. I go really excited.....attended some trade shows and had great feedback. One large company even went 90% of the way toward either buying or licensing it from me. So I kept going and throwing money at it - before I knew it I was a couple hundred grand into it (my own money!) plus 2-3 years of work. The company that was gonna buy it got bought out themselves in the midst of this and the new management didn't want to innovate or take risks...

I could go on but you get the idea....Chinese manufacturing was a QC nightmare. I would have learned and fixed everything given enough time and money. But at some point I decided that I was crazy anyway for going back into the "atoms" biz when I was doing much better in the "bits" end of things.

I ended up selling a bunch of the prototypes and samples and then the company so I didn't lose real money...I worked for free for 3-5 years, but that's expected.

I remember hearing that only 1 out of 200 (or 2,000?) patents ever made any money. As others have noted, business of any type is a risky bet and the most important capital are the people who are hard headed enough to keep going when all the odds are against them.

If it weren't for dreamers and people willing to "go where no one has been before", we wouldn't have figured out that there was no (practical) northwest passage. VC money financed that too.