FreeBird Flight, founded by electronics enthusiast and inventor Roger Freeman, has launched a Kickstarter campaign for the FreeBird One Drone, with the aim to make it commercially available.
The UAV features a patent-pending SurroundFrame, that is 3D printed using carbon fibre material and measured 3 feet in diameter. The idea for the frame was born two year ago, by realising that existing products had several drawbacks that limited the actual potential of this technology. The developer team wanted to design and create a UAV that was safer, more useful for a wide range of applications in all type of weather conditions and more affordable.
Roger explains on why they turned to 3D printing for their unique frame: “We initially used 3D printing as a way to rapid prototype our R&D, but as time progressed, our 3D printing techniques and filament materials advanced such that it was clear the best possible airframe at this point is actually a 3D-printed one. Revising our design to accommodate the various limitations of injection molding would not only result in a less-robust and heavier design, but a much more expensive one as well.”
FreeBird Flight offers the SurroundFrame as well as the FreeBird One Drone to backers of their Kickstarter campaign. You can check out their video below:
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