Klever Freire wanted a drone that was cheaper than current products, easy to assemble and consumer friendly. He and his team at DreamQii have developed the PlexiDrone and are finishing a wildly successful funding campaign through IndieGoGo.
PlexiDrone can be snapped together and assembled in less than one minute and once assembled can be placed into a hard shell backpack. The PlexiPack backpack was designed to allow users to take the drone anywhere that a backpack can go.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/plexidrone-making-aerial-photography-a-breeze
Landing gear for the drone is retractable. The developers say this feature gives you a full three hundred and sixty degree unobstructed viewing range.
Swarm technology is a big part of the PlexiDrone marketing, and allows one user to control several drones at the same time. One scene can be viewed and shot from multiple angles. The GPS Follow Me feature built into the software allows you to jog, bike or drive away while the drone follows you and chronicles your travels.
Obstacle avoidance is built into the system and forward avoidance sensors can detect collisions up to 6.5 meters in front of you. Speech is also a part of the system so that Plexi can tell you when it’s going to hit something, when it’s ready to fly or when you’ve left it unattended too long.
This project is huge. It’s obvious that man hours and money have been poured into Plexi on a massive scale, from the slick polished video and graphics to the arsenal of accessories and options that are already tested and available for order with the campaign rewards.
A highly mobile and versatile gimbal crane has also been developed as an option for the drone, and will fit high end movie quality cameras. Developers are encouraged to download the application programming interface and software development kits from the Plexi site and create their own uses for the aircraft. A modular clip on system will let you attach any camera or anything you can imagine to the drone, up to one kilogram in weight.
The project began at Ryerson University in Toronto and remains a very Canadian endeavor. Several team members have received their Special Flight Operating Certificates to fly the drones commercially in Canada. PlexiHub.com provides an easy framework for drone operators to obtain their certificates through Transport Canada.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/plexidrone-making-aerial-photography-a-breeze