(Source: wsj.com)
Jordi Muñoz Bardales, newly arrived from Ensenada, Mexico, was awaiting his U.S. green card when he broke open his Nintendo Wii controller, removed its sensors and connected them to an $18 microcontroller—a tiny computer on a microchipthat he programmed to stabilize his toy copter. For decades, model aircraft had been notoriously difficult to pilot; Mr. Muñoz had built a device almost anyone could fly.
“I didn’t even know the word drone,” Mr. Muñoz says. “I called it a robotics helicopter.”
He then tried to sell his used Wii for $350 on a programmers’ forum to raise money for his next project, a model plane that could fly itself. His online posts, including videos and code he wrote, had earned him a prominent fan: Chris Anderson, then editor of Wired magazine and a leading advocate of the budding drone movement. Mr. Anderson sent Mr. Muñoz a $500 check, no strings attached.
By 2009, Mr. Muñoz had built a so-called autopilot system, the computer brains behind consumer drones. Later that year, he and Mr. Anderson founded 3D Robotics Inc., now the biggest consumer-drone maker in the U.S., with tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue, 300 employees and more than $100 million in venture capital.
The cofounders face a set of fierce rivals. Paris-based Parrot SA has captured the lower end of the market with camera drones that retail between $100 and $500. The industry juggernaut is SZ DJI Technology Co., a Chinese company that makes the world’s most popular camera drones, priced around $1,000. On Wednesday, DJI unveiled the latest product in its best-selling line of drones.
To compete, 3D Robotics is set to release its own new drone next week, dubbed the Solo and priced around $1,000. The company spent $10 million over 18 months on the black four-rotor helicopter.
Alan is serial entrepreneur, active angel investor, and a drone enthusiast. He co-founded DRONELIFE.com to address the emerging commercial market for drones and drone technology. Prior to DRONELIFE.com, Alan co-founded Where.com, ThinkingScreen Media, and Nurse.com. Recently, Alan has co-founded Crowditz.com, a leader in Equity Crowdfunding Data, Analytics, and Insights. Alan can be reached at alan(at)dronelife.com