Ulrich Ditschler loved drones and was disappointed that consumer drones were mostly quadcopters. Fixed wing aircraft could have more efficiency, offer longer flight times, hold larger payloads and cost less. When properly designed and calibrated planes can even hover like a quadcopter.
Ulrich and his partner Tobias Dazenko are running a Kickstarter campaign for TobyRich Vegas, smartphone controlled planes that bring gaming elements to drones. The games include dogfights, air races and stunts, each demonstrated in the campaign video. Gaming joysticks can be attached to a user's ipad or smartphone to turn the touchscreen into a precision control unit.
TobyRich just announced a partnership with OriginGPS to add the Nano Hornet into each of the company's drones. The Nano Hornet bills itself as the world's smallest GPS with an integrated antenna, and will increase the drones' range and allow subsequent drone releases to have smaller forms and consume less power.
When developing the drones the team tried to find a balance between design and performance. The look of the aircraft is a compromise between a classic biplane / v-tail design and a newer sleeker plane. While validating the plane's design toward production additional material was added to make the body more durable, but this added weight and brought performance issues. After several iterations the team found the right mix between performance and durability.
Ditschler thinks that over the next decade drones can push the boundaries of education and leisure. Marine, sky and space applications will all change how we view and experience the world.
The game experience of this campaign looks amazing. Beyond just adding the joysticks to your tablet, a droneless player can download an app and play an anti-aircraft game against a drone. Race courses can be logged in through landmarks or waypoints and users can race against each other or work for a personal best time. Stunt games show you the way that a stunt is performed and then award points as you try to perform and master the stunts.
TobyRich's campaign is currently at eighty percent of its $110,000 goal and will be funded if the goal is reached by August 29, 2015. Depending on which options a backer chooses drones will be delivered between October 2015 and March 2016. Seeing this new wave of drone gaming in action will be very exciting.
(Images courtesy TobyRich Kickstarter campaign)