The GoPro drone meh…..

Too little to late?

Speaking at the Re/Code, Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. GoPro CEO Nick Woodman had this to say about RPAS.

“It seemed natural to us that we’re in the GoPro enabling business and drones are the ultimate GoPro accessory…that was all the rationale we needed to say OK. It’s core enough to our business to make sense to make our own,”

No date yet but expect sometime in 2016 we shall code name it the MeToo drone here at sUAS News.

I am interested to know who GoPro is partnering with in the production of a quadcopter.  If they are going it alone they face a steep learning curve.

They must bring something to market that is equal to or better than any of the $500 autonomous GoPro lifting products out there already.

No doubt they will be popular by virtue of the name alone, so sales will not be an issue. If its unproven technology in the hands of completely untrained operators then helmets on everyone.

To me a partnership with either DJI or 3DR would be a very sensible thing to do. If reports are to be believed GoPro already had a falling out with DJI, and DJI are very much punting their own cameras these days. So its not likely to be them.

There are several developers from the APM world close to GoPro HQ so its not much of a leap to think that a partnership with the largest Opensource autopilot out there would be on the cards. Perhaps using the Pixhawk 2.

Another opensource autopilot from TauLabs is quietly making a name for itself, some saying its the flight controller inside iRobot founder Helen Greiner’s CyPhy LVL 1 Kickstarter hex. That airframe sits with 21 days of its campaign to go and $483,994 of $250,000 pledged. Clever motor mounting in combination with the extra two motors allow this platform to be gimbal less. This platform can also survive an engine failure in flight and be home in time for tea and medals.

A quad is only 2 sticks and 4 motors. Difference is difficult.