Hi from Acorn Robotics

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AcornRobotics

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#138466 5-Jan-2014 17:39

Hi Everyone,

We are a new robotics startup from Chch looking to gain as much insight as we can, from people we hope to be able to help with our future products!

We aim to put simple, powerful, and beautiful robotics into people's hands, and are close to beginning testing for our first project.

Have a look at our facebook page where we're looking to post cool and interesting news & reads on robotics and tech. We also currently have a logo competition going, so if you have any ideas (no design skill necessary!) we have a JXD quadcopter up for grabs for the winner.

www.facebook.com/acornrobotics

We also have a twitter www.twitter.com/acornrobotics

Look forward to talking with you guys.

Cheers,
Kyle

Acorn Robotics:
-KW Kyle Wilson
-OW Owen Flanagan
-LS Luke Schwartfeger

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#961586 5-Jan-2014 17:39

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#961587 5-Jan-2014 17:39

Welcome to Geekzone!

ubernoob

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#961609 5-Jan-2014 19:22

HI Acorn Robotics. Is it me ?? I Tried to view the "Facebook" link and got this

Server Error in '/' Application.

Runtime Error
Description: An application error occurred on the server. The current custom error settings for this application prevent the details of the application error from being viewed remotely (for security reasons). It could, however, be viewed by browsers running on the local server machine.

Details: To enable the details of this specific error message to be viewable on remote machines, please create a tag within a "web.config" configuration file located in the root directory of the current web application. This tag should then have its "mode" attribute set to "Off".

Notes: The current error page you are seeing can be replaced by a custom error page by modifying the "defaultRedirect" attribute of the application's configuration tag to point to a custom error page URL.

chevrolux

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#961614 5-Jan-2014 19:48

Yep it has freaked out at the HTML tags. Use bold BB Code tags instead.

Edit: Oh and Welcome to Geekzone!!

heavyusr

83 posts

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#961638 5-Jan-2014 21:47

So what is your first project?

mattwnz

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#961649 5-Jan-2014 22:23

Are you importing existing products, or designing and building your own?

AcornRobotics

14 posts

Geek

#963068 8-Jan-2014 10:05

chevrolux: Yep it has freaked out at the HTML tags. Use bold BB Code tags instead.

Edit: Oh and Welcome to Geekzone!!

Apologies, I think it's working now, thanks to freitasm for fixing that up.

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AcornRobotics

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Geek

#963074 8-Jan-2014 10:10

heavyusr: So what is your first project?

We're not far off our first project but need to do some initial testing before we publicly commit to one. I can say that our first one is likely to be a small quadcopter. We will be able to say more shortly! :)

-KW

AcornRobotics

14 posts

Geek

#963080 8-Jan-2014 10:12

mattwnz: Are you importing existing products, or designing and building your own?

Primarily designing and building our own, although initially we may also look at importing existing products
-KW

AcornRobotics

14 posts

Geek

#973639 24-Jan-2014 16:00

Hi all,

For anyone in Chch that may be interested, next Tuesday (28th) we are pitching our first project at Coffee & Jam, 12:30-1:30pm at the Epic Centre on Manchester St.

Coffee & Jam is a free weekly event hosted by Ministry of Awesome. It's a place to share your ideas, seek & give feedback, learn stuff & connect with like-minded folk. Plus who could turn down free Underground coffee and jam and other delicious spreads!

Hope to see some of you there!

- KW

networkn

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#973678 24-Jan-2014 16:46

Be interested to know why the world needs another quadricopter, what do you do better than the ones out there already? I don't mean to sound harsh, but you have to have a niche in this day and age.

I am not saying it won't be awesome. :)

AcornRobotics

14 posts

Geek

#976755 29-Jan-2014 15:30

Hi Networkn, apologies for the slow reply - I need to sort out some notification alerts.

Very good point, the market is already quite congested. Currently we see it divided into 2 sections: 1) cheaper RC toys that just fly, and 2) full-featured drones (often with cameras) that usually retail for upwards of $300.

Often the RC toys are difficult to control and 'non-hobbyists' struggle to just pick them up and use them.

Our first product is a personal drone. We are committed to building a camera equipped quadcopter in the 200-300 price range that people can 'just pick up and use.' It can hold its in position in space and be controlled via a mobile app with which you can also snap personal photos.

We're very interested in hearing your thoughts on this! :)

- KW

Kingy

395 posts

Ultimate Geek

#977138 30-Jan-2014 10:22

AcornRobotics: Hi Networkn, apologies for the slow reply - I need to sort out some notification alerts.

Very good point, the market is already quite congested. Currently we see it divided into 2 sections: 1) cheaper RC toys that just fly, and 2) full-featured drones (often with cameras) that usually retail for upwards of $300.

Often the RC toys are difficult to control and 'non-hobbyists' struggle to just pick them up and use them.

Our first product is a personal drone. We are committed to building a camera equipped quadcopter in the 200-300 price range that people can 'just pick up and use.' It can hold its in position in space and be controlled via a mobile app with which you can also snap personal photos.

We're very interested in hearing your thoughts on this! :)

- KW

Having just built a quadcopter I feel I can add a bit to this conversation.

I personally feel there are 3 sections of quads.
1) the cheap RC toys that range from $30-$100. These are the tiny fit in your palm machines that get blown away in a slight breeze (ie not meant for outdoor use).
2) slightly bigger custom made beginner quads that are made for outdoor use. This is the kind I built which easily cost me $400.
3) The full-featured quad that has cameras, gps, FPV, stabilisation, return-to-home etc etc which usually cost upwards of $800.

If it's true that you can make your own with all the fancy features for $200-300 then I congratulate you and look forward to seeing it.

However, I'm seeing two problems:

The idea of 'just pick up and use' for quadcopters is a lie and will never happen. Watch someone go and buy a quad that is RTF (ready-to-fly) and crash it the same day. Within the first week of flying I had crashed enough times to snap a frame arm, break half a dozen props, destroy a motor, and bend several pins. Mistakes that cost me another $50-60 on top of the already $400 I'd spent (which I was prepared for and had purchased extr parts for that very reason). Even now after a couple of months of flying I still find that I can get myself into trouble (although I can now usually avoid a serious crash). Flying these things takes a lot of time and energy, and if you've spent enough time around the enthusiasts it's one of the reasons why they tell people to go for the first section (tiny quads that can take a beating) before moving on to bigger and better things. Starting on something that also has important equipment such as cameras can be even more costly.

I can even go on to talk about one needing to have some understanding of how these things work. What do I do if after a bit of use the quad starts to oscillate? Do I have the ability to re-tune it or is it now like that for good? What if the flight controller or one of the ESCs die? Can I buy replacements? Can I customize it? Can I buy a bigger battery or is the thrust to weight ratio already at its limit? These sorts of things are fairly technical and not always for the faint hearted.

Secondly, the idea of flying it via a mobile app. While it may sound fun and exciting I believe it will be more of a hindrance than help. Can you guarantee that there won't be any delay between the mobile and the quad? Split second decisions really can be the difference between saving the quad or losing it. Also you won't get the precise movements needed that you get with a proper radio controller. Again this sort of thing can be the difference between crashing and flying. Personally I'd feel using a mobile to fly what is already quite tough, even harder.

Web development blog: http://www.devhour.net
Follow me on twitter: @JAGracie

networkn

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#977141 30-Jan-2014 10:25

My father in law bought himself a $600 USD helicopter, monster of a thing, he practiced for a few months on a $160USD model, then took the monster outside and nearly killed someone with it, and caused $200 worth of damage to it. I'd agree to the ready to fly idea being unlikely, unless you have some new technology and a lot more sensors.

AcornRobotics

14 posts

Geek

#977518 30-Jan-2014 15:59

Hi Kingy & networkn,

thanks for your comments. We completely understand where you are coming from, building a ready to fly quad is probably out of our reach, but we are not really aiming for ready to fly as you are thinking about it. Our approach to design for this first product is not that anyone can pick it up and pilot it around without a care in the world, in fact it is not made to be piloted.

It is a small drone that stays where it is put in space and the user ADJUSTS its position to get the photo they want. Our focus is on keeping it still, not making it move. We believe that this can be achieved in our first product in the 200-300 price range.

We believe that by beginning with this most basic element we can gradually build more complex and powerful systems on top in later models until eventually we end up with a powerful, intuitive out of the box experience as you are thinking about it.

- KW :)

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